Traffic accidents crippled Chinese insurers

BEIJING -- Chinese insurance companies were in the red last year due to road accident-related insurance, as they had to compensate a large number of victims of traffic accidents, data from the industry association showed Friday.

Insurance companies posted a combined loss of 9.2 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) in managing the compulsory auto traffic accident liability insurance, according to the Insurance Association of China.

Two-billion-yuan in investment revenue from traffic accident liability insurance premiums failed to cover 11.2 billion yuan in claims insurers had to pay last year, leading to the fifth straight year of losses for the insurance product since it was introduced in 2006, said the IAC.

The country's insurance companies have lost 17.3 billion yuan in compulsory insurance over the past five years, according to the IAC.

According to the insurance association, about 114 million auto units were covered by the compulsory traffic accident liability insurance at the end of 2011.

Last year, 210,812 fatal road accidents were reported in China, resulting in the deaths of 62,387 people, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security.