Responsive mainland insurers win consumer trust

Zhou Lijuan, 33, owner of a flower shop in Shanghai, is expecting her first baby very soon. Over the last few months, she has spent a lot of time talking to dozens of insurance agents in a bid to understand how the policies work.

"My child will be born soon and I'm in dire need of protection for myself and my baby," she says.

Zhou exemplifies Chinese families who know more about insurance than they did in the past. That's because insurers have been responding to the tendency of mainland consumers to buy policies from Hong Kong.

Their marketing campaigns are now resulting in consumers buying insurance from the mainland, analysts say.

Recent data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission show that insurers' combined life insurance premium income in January grew 39 percent year-on-year to 758 billion yuan ($110 billion; 103.6 billion euros; 87.5 billion), with regular payments rising 49 percent year-on-year.

"I'm not inclined to face policy uncertainties in markets outside the mainland, so I'd like to invest in protection in the home market, which is more stable and easily accessible," Zhou says.

Wu Kaihao, a wealth management consultant at Shanghai Blue Point Investment Advising, says many families in China are now approaching wealth management products for protection rather than high returns. This is particularly true for families whose housing needs have been met, and money in bank accounts is enough to take care of day-to-day expenses.

"Retirement planning and education for children are the major things we think about. Five years ago, I'd have bought financial products with yields of some 7 or 8 percent. Now 4 percent is good enough, and for insurance 2.5 percent is good enough," says Wu.

Pu Dongjun, an analyst at Changjiang Securities, says in a research note that both insurers and consumers are attaching more importance to protection than high returns.

"Since the beginning of 2017, insurance-related dividends are somewhere between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, while last year they were between 3 percent and 5 percent. Policies are formulated with more focus on protection, not returns," says Pu.

Innovative products, such as online tools for Chinese families, have been driving market growth in recent months, says Chen Jiaoyi, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities.

A health insurance product by ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co, China's first online insurance company, sold 57,000 policies during the first week after its launch, demonstrating customers' strong demand.

wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn