Growth in premium revenue reaches record high over 6 years

Growth in premium revenue reaches record high over 6 years Insurance premiums on the Chinese mainland last year rose by the fastest since 2002 as people become more aware of the need for financial protection, the top industry regulator said yesterday. A total of 978.4 billion yuan in premiums were collected last year, a jump of 39.1 percent from a year ago, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said yesterday. Life insurance led the growth as premiums totaled 665.84 billion yuan last year, a rise of 49.2 percent over a year ago. Non-life insurance premiums added 17 percent to 233.67 billion yuan in the period. Some insurance firms have tailored products to cater to corporations and individuals as they became more aware for the need to be adequately protected financially. Insurers paid out 297 billion yuan last year, a 31.2-percent rise from a year earlier because of a snowstorm in early last year and a massive earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people in May. At the end of last year, insurers placed 84.4 percent of their investments in bank deposits and bonds, up 16 percentage points from the start of the year while investment in stocks and funds dropped by 13.8 percentage points to 13.3 percent last year. The industry's total assets topped at 3.3 trillion yuan as of the end of last year, up 15.2 percent from last year's beginning, the regulator said