China Insurance Association: In the first quarter of 2026, the insurance industry achieved premium income of 2.31 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%.

On April 27, the China Insurance Association held the first regular press conference of 2026. Fang Yong, a member of the party committee and deputy secretary general of the China Insurance Association, introduced the first-quarter operation of the insurance market at the press conference. He stated that the insurance industry adheres to the political and people-centered nature of financial work, fully utilizes the functions of the "two instruments and three networks," and has made significant achievements in serving technological innovation, green transformation, livelihood security, and high-level opening to the outside world. This has injected strong momentum into the development of new quality productivity, empowering modern social governance, building a multi-level social security system, and supporting Chinese companies going global. In the first quarter of 2026, the insurance industry operated steadily and well, with premium income reaching 2.31 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%, and claim payouts reaching 0.89 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Shen Guohua, the general manager of the Investment Management Department of China Life Insurance Group and the deputy director of the Asset Utilization Special Committee of the Association, Shi Lei, the general manager of the Risk Reduction Service Department of the Property Insurance Department of PICC, Xu Ting, the assistant general manager of Ping An Property Insurance, and Song Jianguo, the vice chairman and general manager of Taiping Property Insurance attended the conference and answered questions from reporters. Fang Yong introduced the operation of the insurance market in the first quarter at the press conference. He emphasized that the insurance industry adheres to the political and people-centered nature of financial work, fully utilizing the functions of the "two instruments and three networks." The insurance industry has made remarkable achievements in serving technological innovation, green transformation, livelihood security, and high-level opening to the outside world, injecting strong impetus into the development of new quality productivity, empowering modern social governance, building a multi-level social security system, and supporting Chinese companies going global. In the first quarter of 2026, the insurance industry operated steadily and well, with premium income reaching 2.31 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%, and claim payouts reaching 0.89 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. In the current and upcoming period, the insurance industry will continue to implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Party Central Committee, focus on key areas such as national strategy, livelihood security, and social governance, strengthen the insurance protection function, and accelerate high-quality development. It is expected that the insurance industry will maintain stable and healthy development in 2026, with growth synchronized with economic and social development, and the effects of the "Five Major Financial Measures" will further manifest. Shen Guohua stated in response to questions from reporters that in terms of serving technological innovation with insurance funds, insurance funds fully utilize the advantage of "patient capital" as discoverers and shapers of long-term value to continuously empower innovative and technological companies. The industry has also innovated the S Fund investment model, realizing government-led support for the incubation of innovative and technological enterprises from 0 to 1 and the investment relay of insurance funds from 1 to 100, continuously expanding the breadth of insurance fund investment in the field of innovation and technology. In terms of strengthening the asset-liability management of insurance companies, the industry focuses on promoting the comprehensive upgrade of three major management dimensions. First, strategic management upgrading integrates asset-liability management into development strategy assessment, strengthens group and internal coordination; second, governance system upgrading clarifies the responsibilities of the board of directors and top management, and improves internal cooperation and supervision mechanisms; third, asset-liability linkage upgrading closely follows the "regulatory + monitoring" dual-tier indicator system, classifying and constructing a quantitative evaluation mechanism, strengthening the process management of asset-liability matching to ensure prudent and sound operations. When responding to questions from reporters, Shuai Yuting stated that the introduction of the "Opinions on Accelerating the High-Quality Development of Technology Insurance" is a milestone, marking the entry of technology insurance into a new stage of "policy-driven, system-driven." Currently, the development of technology insurance presents four major highlights: first, rapid development in service guarantees, initially forming a multi-level product system; second, active layout of innovation in key areas, with many places introducing special support policies; third, product innovation focusing on cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence and low-altitude economy; fourth, continuous improvement of business models, providing risk protection through mechanisms such as establishing a co-insurance body. In terms of disaster prevention and risk reduction, the insurance industry solidly promotes risk reduction and disaster prevention and relief efforts, first, by strengthening the construction of organizational and institutional systems, improving risk detection, early warning response, major disaster emergency response, green claims channels, and establishing professional teams; second, implementing normalized risk reduction services in key areas such as occupational safety, agricultural production, to reduce losses at the source; third, utilizing technologies such as satellite remote sensing, Internet of Things, and AI big models to create a comprehensive monitoring and early warning system, empowering technology. Xu Ting, in response to questions from reporters, stated that in 2025, the premium income of Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation reached 190 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.94%, and the transformation trend of the car insurance business structure towards new, green, and intelligent is evident. New energy vehicle insurance has become an important driver for the high-quality development of car insurance, thanks to the industry's resolute implementation of regulatory deployments, consensus building, and multiple measures. First, strengthening normative guidance, strictly implementing the insurance submission integration; second, promoting the construction of the "Good Car Insurance" platform, solving the bottleneck of insurance submission; third, enriching the product supply system, accurately matching diverse protection needs; fourth, deepening risk reduction services, strengthening risk prevention at the source; fifth, enhancing technological empowerment and improving service efficiency. In the future, the industry will focus on addressing industry pain points and difficulties by continuing to deepen reforms, focusing on cost control in repairs, product innovation, and consolidating the industry's positive momentum. Song Jianguo, when answering questions from reporters, stated that in spring agricultural production, the insurance industry is a "stabilizer" and "safety valve," launching a series of measures: first, expanding coverage from "insurance for planting" to "guaranteed production"; second, precise underwriting using technology empowerment to bridge the "last mile" and realize "data running more, farmers running less"; third, disaster prevention and loss reduction from "post-disaster compensation" to "comprehensive escort," promoting the integration of "risk prevention, reduction, rescue, and compensation" service system; fourth, opening a fast and green claims channel to ensure timely payment. Regarding the development of local characteristic insurance by Shenzhen Agricultural Power Group, after years of development, the variety of insurance products has exceeded 700, and the level of protection has significantly improved, gradually building a multi-level system of special Shenzhen Agricultural Power Group insurance products. In the next step, the industry will continue to deepen supply-side reforms to make insurance a true "stabilizer" for the development of county-level industries and a "booster" for increasing farmers' income. Pang Bo stated in response to questions from reporters that reinsurance is the "insurance of insurance," playing an important role in supporting the stability of the insurance industry, aiding national governance, and serving the modernization of China. With profound changes in the global risk landscape, the service boundaries of reinsurance have further expanded to non-traditional security fields such as climate change, emerging risks brought by technological innovation, and geopolitical conflicts, closely connecting with complex risks of significant impact. It serves as an important mechanism for expanding the underwriting capacity and service boundaries of the insurance industry, maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability, and promoting financial product and technological innovation. At the meeting, the "Ten Major Events in the Insurance Industry in 2025" and the "News in the Insurance Industry in 2025" were publicly released, including 37 pieces of "news media group annual news," 35 pieces of "local association group annual news," and 74 pieces of "company group annual news." The content focuses on the insurance industry's study and implementation of the central government's decision-making arrangements, the accomplishment of the "Five Major Financial Measures," response to major natural disasters, service for high-level opening to the outside world, and the solid track record of safeguarding the people's beautiful life. It systematically summarizes and reflects the achievements of the insurance industry's reform and development in 2025, especially through the perspective of the media, vividly presenting the qualified answer sheet handed in by the insurance industry in the final year of the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan." This article is compiled from the China Insurance Association, GMTEight Editor: Chen Wenfang.