Between the start of this year and mid-July, the Chinese regulator has approved the licences of 18 insurance intermediaries - 15 insurance brokerages and three agencies.
There were at least 2,623 intermediaries, including five insurance broking groups, 505 insurance brokerages, 228 national level insurance agencies, 1,549 local level insurance agencies and 336 loss adjusting firms, as at mid-July.
At least 30 insurance entities have over the past decade established at least 35 insurance intermediaries including sales companies, agencies and brokerages. A recent example is that on 11 July, the CBIRC approved the established Pacific Insurance Agency which is part Pacific Insurance Online Services Technology, a subsidiary of China Pacific Insurance.
Apart from insurers, technology companies and investors from other fields are entering the insurance intermediary field. Names including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD, Suning, Xiaomi, Sina, and NetEase, have also applied for and obtained insurance-related licences.
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At the same time, the insurance intermediary sector is being opened up further to foreign investors. At the end of June, the CBIRC issued its “Notice on Allowing Foreign Investors to Operate Insurance Agency Businesses in China”. The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has also announced new measures to attract foreign insurers, banks and securities companies. In May, Willis Insurance Brokers became the first fully licensed foreign broker to transact all insurance business in China.
To date, there are six foreign-owned insurance brokerages in China, including Aon and Marsh.
Asia Advisers Network is an initiative of Asia Insurance Review.