The combined profits of insurance companies in China more than doubled in the first half of 2015, helped largely by greater demand and investment returns, Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission data revealed yesterday.
The total profit of insurance companies touched 229.8 billion yuan ($37 billion), 204 percent up from the same period of last year, the CIRC said.
Profits of life insurers in the first half jumped 250 percent while that of property and casualty insurers rose 150 percent. The regulator said investment returns of insurance companies reached a record high in the first half and the average return on assets was 5.16 percent, up 2.82 percentage points year on year.
Insurers have put 14.84 percent investment capital into the stock market and equity funds by the end of June, 5.5 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.
But their investment in bonds declined to 60.11 percent by 11.19 percentage points year on year. Profits from insurance business were growing rapidly in the first half with improved structure, the regulator said.
For life insurers, gross premium from dividend-based policies declined 0.8 percent and the more profitable general life insurance policy premium rose 53 percent.
Hong Jinping, an analyst with the China Merchants Securities, said the stable growth of insurance companies revealed sound business prospect of the industry. He said companies will continue to benefit from booming Internet finance and possible pricing deregulations in the second half.
