CPIC, Allianz form JV

China Pacific Insurance Co's joint venture with Allianz Group started operation yesterday to meet the growing need for health insurance in China, the country's third-biggest insurer said yesterday.

The newly opened CPIC Allianz Health Insurance, the first of its kind registered in the Shanghai pilot free trade zone, plans to conduct health insurance that includes long-term care insurance and tailor-made health services, according to Chief Executive Officer Sun Peijian.

"We aim to provide new products based on our nearly 90 million users to meet their increasing need for health insurance," said Sun.

Recent data reflected that commercial health insurance is growing fast as the Chinese government is aiming to increase the proportion of insurance premiums in the gross domestic product to 10 percent by 2020.

China's commercial health insurance business is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan (US$161 billion) by 2020, according to Manuel Bauer, global vice president of Allianz.