PICC eyes other insurance markets amid dip in auto sales

People's Insurance Co (Group) of China Ltd, one of China's largest insurers, will strengthen its exploration into nonautomotive insurance markets, its top management said Monday.

So far, PICC Group's nonautomotive insurance businesses have increased to 46 percent, compared to 54 percent business from automotive insurance.

China's automotive market saw its first dip last year since 1990, and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects sales this year to fall by around 5 percent from 2018. That means the country's automotive insurance businesses will also probably see a slowdown in growth.

"We'll strengthen our efforts in exploring the markets for life insurance, health insurance and liability insurance," said Xie Yiqun, vice-president of PICC Group. "And we hope that the profit contributions from our nonautomotive businesses will gradually grow to the same level from our automotive business."

PICC Group's net profit jumped 55.4 percent year-on-year to 21.68 billion yuan in the first half of 2019, thanks to the improved investment performance in the capital market and the government's favorable policies, according to its interim report. All its subsidiaries, including its property and casualty businesses, life insurance businesses and health insurance businesses, all saw their net profits reaching a record high since 2007. And PICC Group's gross investment yield stood at 5.4 percent, up 0.3 percentage points on a yearly basis.

Yang Pengyu contributed to this story