Warm, Risky Climate for Insurance Sector Boom

(Beijing) – Like a swimming pool on a hot summer day, China's booming insurance sector is attracting throngs of consumers, investors and companies eager for refreshing protection and cool cash.

Behind the boom is a summer-like business climate that's made it easier than ever for firms to offer and consumers to buy all kinds of insurance.

A regulatory easing for the industry launched by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in 2012 and fine-tuned several times since then has helped insurance companies diversify and profit from investments in stocks, bonds and other financial products. It has also encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit, as dozens of new insurance companies have started in recent years and, as of February, more than 100 others were seeking business licenses.