JPMorgan released a research report stating that Hong Kong's life insurance industry set another new record for new business sales in the third quarter of 2025, with first-year premiums reaching 91 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 69%. However, the bank believes that despite the record sales volume, the overall product structure and the health of business development are not as robust as in recent quarters, and it anticipates that managing growth momentum will be a key challenge for 2026 amid tightening regulatory oversight.
JPMorgan expressed a preference for China Life Insurance (02628) and Ping An Insurance (02318) for 2026, believing their business growth prospects are superior to those of other regional peers.
The report noted that the Hong Kong Insurance Authority plans to reduce upfront sales commissions starting January 2026, which has already prompted a significant increase in the contribution from the brokerage channel. In the third quarter, this channel accounted for 35% of new policy premiums, an increase of 8 percentage points year-on-year.
The report also highlighted that demand for US dollar-denominated policies remained stable, growing 48% year-on-year in the third quarter. This reflects the competitive advantages of the Hong Kong life insurance market in terms of product diversity and returns, especially following the reduction in guaranteed interest rates in mainland China.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, JPMorgan expects both the agency and brokerage channels to jointly drive strong new business performance ahead of the adjustment to sales commission rates.
Furthermore, the reduction in guaranteed interest rates for non-participating insurance products by mainland Chinese insurers starting September 2025 may further stimulate demand from mainland visitors for Hong Kong insurance products.
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