Insurers Saw Business Slow in 2012, Regulator Says

(Beijing) – The insurance regulator said business for insurers nationwide slowed significantly in 2012 and some may run out of cash this year.

The regulator revealed last year's data on January 24. It shows that a combined 1.55 trillion yuan of premiums was collected in 2012, an increase of only 8 percent from 2011.

That was the first single-digit growth rate since records started being kept, said Xiang Junbo, chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission. In comparison, over the last nearly two decades, collected premiums rose by on average more than 20 percent year on year, he said.