Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 06, 2004
Property insurers eye more gains in accidental insurance market
China's property insurance giants are eyeing more gains in the accidental injury market once dominated by life insurers after one year's fierce competition, and more products will be introduced to fasten their foothold.
China's property insurance giants are eyeing more gains in the accidental injury market once dominated by life insurers after one year's fierce competition, and more products will be introduced to fasten their foothold.
PICC Property and Casualty Co., Ltd. (PICC P&C), the country's biggest property insurer, has secured the second place in accidental insurance market shares, next only to the largest life insurer China Life Insurance.
PICC P&C started the business on Jan. 1, 2003, when the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the industry's watchdog, issued regulations allowing property insurers to offer short-term life insurance products traditionally only offered by life insurers.
PICC P&C and another two property insurance giants, Ping'an Property Insurance and China Pacific Property Insurance, then introduced 43 accidental injury insurance products to the market as their first move to compete with life insurers.
PICC P&C, said Wang He, its deputy CEO, had signed accidental insurance policies worth 1.93 trillion yuan, boasting a market share of nearly 20 percent by the end of 2003.
More accidental insurance products will be introduced this yearto expand the business, said Wang, echoed by sources from Ping'an and China Pacific.
According to a recent survey on Chinese people's purposes for saving, more than 4 trillion yuan (about 484 billion US dollars) can be used or connected with insurance, reflecting great market potential for China's insurance industry.