Profitable companies surged from 38 in the same period last year to 51, with 14 turning losses into profits.
A comprehensive review of 58 non-listed life insurance companies shows that Taikang Life Insurance and China Post Life Insurance continue to lead the pack, while CCB Life Insurance achieved 37 billion yuan in premiums, leading the five major bank-related insurers. Among the 57 companies reporting insurance business income (excluding the pension division of China Life), the total reached 796.173 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.68%. The combined net profit of all 58 companies soared to 61.688 billion yuan, surging 108.48% year-on-year. The number of profit-making companies rose from 38 to 51, with 14 companies swinging from losses to profits. These 14 companies include China United Life Insurance, Guolian Life Insurance, Xinhua Pension, Ergo Life Insurance, Rui Tai Life Insurance, Hotai Life Insurance, HSBC Life Insurance, Axalife Insurance, Guobao Life Insurance, Hengqin Life Insurance, Aegon THTF Life Insurance, Peking University Founder Life Insurance, BOC-Samsung Life Insurance, and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance.
However, seven companies remained in the red, including Xiaokang Life Insurance, Dajia Pension, Haibao Life Insurance, Nissay Life Insurance, Sanxia Life Insurance, Huahui Life Insurance, and Hengan Standard Pension. While some of these loss-making companies narrowed their deficits, Xiaokang Life Insurance was the only one to shift from profit to loss. On the investment front, the performance was mixed. The simple average investment return rate for the 58 companies was 2.01%, down 0.14 percentage points year-on-year. The simple average comprehensive investment return rate was 2.22%, a decrease of 0.34 percentage points. At the company level, 22 firms saw both rates rise, 19 saw both fall, and the remaining 17 experienced divergent trends or one rate remaining flat. Only one company reported a negative investment return rate, while three had negative comprehensive investment return rates.
Premium Income Nears 10% Growth; Taikang Leads with 144.5 Billion, China Post Follows with 129.1 Billion
A review of the performance rankings of 57 non-listed life insurers reveals a clear improvement in both premium income and net profit compared to the first half of last year. Total insurance business income increased from 725.895 billion yuan to 796.173 billion yuan, a rise of 70.278 billion yuan. Among these, 35 companies saw income growth, while 22 experienced declines. Only two companies surpassed the 100-billion-yuan mark in premium income. Taikang Life Insurance topped the list with 144.505 billion yuan, followed by China Post Life Insurance with 129.138 billion yuan. Together, these two giants accounted for 34.37% of the total premium income of the 57 companies. CCB Life Insurance ranked third with 37.049 billion yuan, Generali China Life Insurance reported 36.763 billion yuan, ICBC-AXA Life Insurance had 32.425 billion yuan, and both Cigna-CMB Life Insurance and ABC Life Insurance exceeded 31.1 billion yuan. The net increase in premiums was primarily driven by top-tier companies and a few fast-growing mid-sized firms. Taikang Life Insurance added 13.532 billion yuan, Generali China Life Insurance increased by 13.152 billion yuan, and China Post Life Insurance grew by 11.066 billion yuan, collectively contributing 53.72% of the net income growth among the 57 companies. National Pension Insurance saw a 395.48% surge, growing from 1.539 billion yuan to 7.626 billion yuan. Sanxia Life Insurance also experienced robust growth, rising 224.50% from 262 million yuan to 850 million yuan. Among the 22 companies with declining income, MetLife Insurance saw the largest absolute drop, falling by 2.689 billion yuan to 19.561 billion yuan. ABC Life Insurance decreased by 1.466 billion yuan, ING-BOB Life Insurance dropped by 1.206 billion yuan, Huagui Life Insurance fell by 1.178 billion yuan, and ICBC-AXA Life Insurance declined by 1.046 billion yuan.
Net Profit Soars to 61.688 Billion; 14 Companies Turn Profitable, 7 Remain in the Red
In terms of profitability, the total net profit of the 58 companies jumped from 29.589 billion yuan to 61.688 billion yuan, an increase of 32.099 billion yuan. Forty-nine companies reported higher net profits or narrowed losses, while nine saw profits decline or losses expand. In the first half of 2026, 51 companies were profitable, compared to 38 in the same period last year, while the number of loss-making companies fell from 20 to 7. Taikang Life Insurance led with a net profit of 15.821 billion yuan, the only company to surpass the 10-billion-yuan mark. China Post Life Insurance ranked second with 7.068 billion yuan, and ICBC-AXA Life Insurance came in third with 4.317 billion yuan. ABC Life Insurance and CCB Life Insurance reported net profits of 3.312 billion yuan and 3.201 billion yuan, respectively. The top three companies in net profit increase were all "bank-affiliated" insurers: ICBC-AXA Life Insurance added 3.113 billion yuan, CCB Life Insurance increased by 2.636 billion yuan, and ABC Life Insurance grew by 2.569 billion yuan. China Post Life Insurance followed closely with an increase of 1.891 billion yuan. The 14 companies that turned from loss to profit include China United Life Insurance, Guolian Life Insurance, Xinhua Pension, Ergo Life Insurance, Rui Tai Life Insurance, Hotai Life Insurance, HSBC Life Insurance, Axalife Insurance, Guobao Life Insurance, Hengqin Life Insurance, Aegon THTF Life Insurance, Peking University Founder Life Insurance, BOC-Samsung Life Insurance, and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance. Notably, BOC-Samsung Life Insurance swung from a loss of 543 million yuan to a profit of 710 million yuan, a net improvement of 1.253 billion yuan. Hengqin Life Insurance turned around from an 839 million yuan loss to a 365 million yuan profit, an increase of 1.204 billion yuan. Peking University Founder Life Insurance and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance improved by 1.012 billion yuan and 970 million yuan, respectively. Among the seven loss-making companies, Xiaokang Life Insurance fell from a profit of 159 million yuan in the same period last year to a loss of 508 million yuan, a drop of 667 million yuan. Dajia Pension, Haibao Life Insurance, Nissay Life Insurance, Sanxia Life Insurance, Huahui Life Insurance, and Hengan Standard Pension continued to post losses. While Haibao Life Insurance, Nissay Life Insurance, Sanxia Life Insurance, and Huahui Life Insurance narrowed their losses, Dajia Pension and Heng'an Standard Pension saw their losses widen. It is worth noting that income and profit were not perfectly correlated. Among the 22 companies with declining premium income, 18 improved their net profits. Conversely, of the 35 companies with growing premium income, five saw their net profits decline.
Investment Returns Decline on Average; 22 Companies See Both Rates Rise, 19 See Both Fall
The simple average investment return rate for the 58 companies in the first half of 2026 was 2.01%, down 0.14 percentage points from 2.15% in the same period last year, with a median of 1.92%. Twenty-eight companies saw their investment return rates rise, while 30 saw declines. Guomin Life Insurance led the pack with an investment return rate of 4.66%, followed by Beijing Life Insurance at 4.47%, Xinhua Pension at 3.77%, Fosun Health Insurance at 3.56%, and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance at 3.40%. Xinhua Pension recorded the largest increase, rising 2.07 percentage points, with Guomin Life Insurance up 2.03 percentage points, and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance and Fosun Health Insurance increasing by 1.69 and 1.44 percentage points, respectively. Haibao Life Insurance was the only company with a negative investment return rate at -0.35%. Junlong Life Insurance experienced the steepest decline, dropping 3.26 percentage points from 4.67% to 1.41%. Huagui Life Insurance fell by 2.56 percentage points, Haibao Life Insurance dropped 2.24 percentage points, Xiaokang Life Insurance declined by 1.98 percentage points, and Aviva Life Insurance decreased by 1.72 percentage points. Regarding comprehensive investment return rates, the simple average for the 58 companies fell from 2.56% to 2.22%, a decrease of 0.34 percentage points. However, 32 companies saw their rates rise, 23 saw declines, and three remained flat, with the median change being an increase of 0.09 percentage points. The overall average was dragged down by a few companies with significant declines. Guomin Life Insurance again topped the list with a comprehensive investment return rate of 4.76%. Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance reported 4.34%, Peking University Founder Life Insurance had 4.21%, Happy Life Insurance recorded 3.88%, and Beijing Life Insurance came in at 3.84%. Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance saw the largest increase, rising 2.60 percentage points, followed by Hotai Life Insurance (up 1.91 percentage points), Beijing Life Insurance (up 1.70 percentage points), Peking University Founder Life Insurance (up 1.47 percentage points), and HSBC Life Insurance (up 1.45 percentage points). Three companies reported negative comprehensive investment return rates. Xiaokang Life Insurance had a rate of -5.24%, a drop of 10.77 percentage points year-on-year. Haibao Life Insurance recorded -0.87%, down 2.88 percentage points, and National Pension Insurance reported -0.31%, a decrease of 3.93 percentage points. Although Great Wall Life Insurance maintained a positive rate of 2.07%, it was still a significant decline of 4.75 percentage points from the previous year.
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