China insurance – (Re)in Asia

Features and key stories

BRICS backs reinsurance capacity talks, India offers GIFT City for risk lab

City skyline with skyscrapers and a bridge over a highway.

Markel puts APAC at the heart of growth plans

Empty train station platform with boxes and 'In Force' sign, early exit door, and clock.

Aerial view of a modern city with a twin-towered building by the water and a circular stadium in the foreground, under a clear blue sky.

Bustling pedestrian street in a historic Chinese town, with red lanterns hanging between wooden shops.

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Shenergy PC China Coal underwrote key liability policies for Chinas deadliest mining accident since 2009

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BRICS backs reinsurance capacity talks, India offers GIFT City for risk lab

The proposed resilience centre would build shared risk models, though the declaration commits no capital.

China proposes direct supervision of insurers' shareholders, 1bn yuan capital floor for new entrants

First overhaul of the Insurance Law in more than a decade would also broaden insurers' permitted investments and lift fines to as much as 10 times illegal gains.

Markel puts APAC at the heart of growth plans

Markel APAC head Sucheng Chang aims to nearly double the regional book within five years, with recent expansion setting the pace and new opportunities in view.

Asia's life insurers rethink products as surrender trends test customer retention

Policy surrenders have surpassed maturity payouts in India, while Korea has seen cancellations rise 62.7% in early 2026.

Health drives China non-life gains, but life fall tips May premiums into decline

Total industry premium income fell 1.5% to CN¥457.83bn (US$67.6bn), the first annual decline of the year.

China publishes new measures to accelerate build-out of Shanghai reinsurance centre

The eight-point plan seeks to lift trading volumes, strengthen reinsurers' capital, and bring more international capacity into China's market.

China claims pressure eases further in April as premium growth moderates

Life claims declined sharply by more than 12%, while non-life payouts stabilised, highlighting diverging underwriting conditions across segments.

Participating policies gain favour among Chinese P&C insurers as low-yield pressures mount

Insurers across China, Taiwan and South Korea are bolstering capital buffers and refining investment strategies as low rates and volatility strain traditional earnings models.

China issues new regulatory framework for insurance asset management

NFRA has set out requirements across four key pillars, while stressing firms must pursue high-quality development and compete in an orderly way to prevent market chaos.

Shenergy P&C, China Coal hold key liability covers for China’s deadliest coal mine accident since 2009

Shenergy P&C, which underwrote the mine's work safety liability, has prepared an advance claims fund, while more than 50 insurers have activated fast-track processes to cover the policies of affected...

Heavy rains in central, southern China trigger 33,000 insurance claims, US$110m in estimated losses

China's insurers have paid or advanced 210m yuan (US$29m) to policyholders as the NFRA orders fast-track claims handling following floods and landslides across six regions.

China’s space insurance consortium writes US$1.5bn in cover in first year

Since its launch in March 2025, the Beijing commercial space co-insurance consortium has also reduced its average inquiry and underwriting time by 20%.

China insurance premiums edge up 1.4% in March as life claims ease, unit-linked activity weakens

Claims pressures softened, particularly in life, while investment-linked inflows fell 33.5% YoY and non-life exposures continued to expand.

Chinese insurers pay US$2.2m in expedited claims after deadly Hunan fireworks factory explosion

The blast killed at least 21 people and injured 61, prompting insurers to activate fast-track claims, with some payouts within 24 hours.

Autonomous vehicles drive APAC insurers toward new liability era as robotaxis ramp up

Robotaxis are giving commercial shape to APAC’s broader AV market, but insurers remain constrained by limited data, fragmented regulation, and unresolved liability questions.

China's low-altitude economy has taken off and its insurers are writing the global underwriting playbook

China's market is heading toward half a trillion dollars by 2035, and insurers face the high-frequency challenge of flight safety, data security, and infrastructure risk—compounded by the threat of low-probability,...

China non-life premiums reach US$254bn in 2025 as A&H grows, insured exposure expands

Premiums increased 3.9% year on year, driven by double-digit growth in accident and health lines, while insured exposure climbed 12%.

China insurance premiums grow 5.38% in December 2025, but claims climb faster

Non-life remained sluggish as motor pricing stayed tight and agricultural premiums spiked without a matching lift in sums insured.

Vietnam breaks from Asia’s soft market trend as commercial rates rebound to 15% in Q4

Korea led the region’s softening with a 17% composite rate drop, while Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR also posted double-digit declines, according to Marsh data.

Japan and India buck regional slide as Asia-Pacific insurance dealmaking declines further in 2025

With only two $1bn-plus transactions all year, buyers shifted toward smaller, distribution-led plays and selective cross-border bets.