Insurance firm eyes Shanghai's wealthy

China-US Insurance Advisory Co, a joint venture set up by industry giants PICC and AIG, opened a branch in Shanghai yesterday to tap into the growing wealthy urban population.

The Shanghai unit will offer insurance deals from 12 life and non-life insurance companies. It will customize insurance policies for clients with offers from PICC Life and US-based insurance giant AIG.

"The prosperity of Shanghai makes it an ideal and natural destination in our expansion as we focus on the high-income population," said Zhu Shuiming, president and executive director of the joint venture. "We will support our strategy by building a professional sales team, domestic and international products, advanced technology, and flat internal management."

The Shenzhen-based joint venture, 75.1 percent owned by state-owned PICC Life with AIG holding the rest, started operation in March this year and has about 4,000 clients with presence in Shenzhen and Beijing, the company said.

It plans to open 100 outlets in five years with annual revenue exceeding 2 billion yuan (US$325 million).

The company's Shanghai branch will compete with nearly 300 insurance intermediaries already operating in the city.

Official data shows gross premium revenue in Shanghai, including life and non-life sectors, reached 77.5 billion yuan in the first nine months of this year, which was up 21 percent from the same period of last year.