China's insurers collect more premium income in 2018

BEIJING - China's insurance industry saw a stable increase in premium income in 2018 amid tightened regulations aimed at defusing financial risks, official data showed.

Combined premium in the industry totaled 3.8 trillion yuan ($567 billion) in 2018, up 3.92 percent year-on-year, according to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Property insurers collected 1.18 trillion yuan in premium income, up 11.52 percent year-on-year, while life insurance firms saw premium income rise by 0.85 percent to 2.6 trillion yuan, the data showed.

Major insurers reported relatively fast growth in premium income, previous company statements showed. A total premium income of 2.19 trillion yuan was obtained by the five listed insurers including Ping An Insurance and China Life Insurance, representing an increase of 10.8 percent year-on-year.

The rise came amid tightened regulations last year aimed at fending off financial risks in the world's second-biggest insurance market.

The sector has shown a stronger capacity to forestall risks as its overall leverage has gradually dropped and business structure improved, the regulator said in December.