Growth of China's insurance premiums weakens in August

Declines in the life segment dragged on growth.

For January-August 2019, the growth of China’s insurance premiums was sluggish at 13% YoY no thanks to growth moderation in the life segment, according to UOB Kay Hian. In the life segment, premiums growth slowed to 14.7% YoY in 8M 2019 from 15.9% in January-July.

According to analyst Eric Wang Zhen, premiums growth could further slow in 4Q2019 due to high base and historical trend.

Meanwhile, the growth in healthcare insurance premiums remained robust at 31.5% YoY, whilst premiums growth in traditional life and accident insurance fell to 10.7% YoY and 15.2% YoY respectively.

Auto insurance also suffered due to lukewarm new car sales and premiums reform, only posting an 11.2% growth. Cargo insurance also fell to 8%, but liability and credit & guarantee insurances surged to 31.9% YoY and 36.5% respectively.

Healthcare insurance stayed strong at 31.5% YoY in 8m 2019 but premiums growth in traditional life and accident insurance fell to 10.7% and 15.2%, respectively.

Property and casualty (P&C) premiums bounced to 8.2% in August from 8% in July

Total loss ratio improved as it dropped to 26.72% in August, mainly attributed to the P&C segment. Loss ratios in traditional life and accident insurance arrived at 15.22% and 23.94% in 8M 2019. On the contrary, healthcare insurance loss ratio went up to 28.65%