Participating Policies Surge at Listed Insurers in H1 2026, Premiums Up 94.4%

In the first half of 2026, participating insurance business showed significant growth among listed insurers, with several companies reporting that such policies accounted for over 90% of their new business. At China Taiping's Taiping Life, participating policies made up 97.8% of first-year regular premiums for long-term products. At Ping An Life, participating policies accounted for more than 90% of new business. New China Life reported that participating policies represented over 90% of first-year premiums for long-term products. China Pacific Life saw the share of participating policies in new business rise to 55.5%.

Industry-wide data show that in the first half of 2026, original premium income from participating insurance in China's insurance market reached approximately RMB 1.01 trillion, up 94.4% year on year. The share of participating policies in life insurers' original premiums rose to 35%, the highest level in recent years.

Participating policies adopt a structure combining a guaranteed return with variable dividends, with the guaranteed rate set at 1.75%. This product structure helps insurers reduce rigid liability costs, while its returns offer certain advantages over other financial products. Profits from participating policies mainly depend on the interest spread generated by investment returns. When equity markets decline, insurers' investment income falls, reducing the profits that participating policies can contribute. Under relevant regulations, at least 70% of the distributable surplus from participating policies must be allocated to policyholders.

In the first half of 2026, AIA China achieved 30% growth in annualized new premiums and 20% growth in new business value, while its new business value margin fell by 4.5 percentage points, reflecting a product mix shift toward participating savings products. An excessively high share of participating policies can lower insurers' new business value margins, as the margin on such policies mainly derives from interest spreads, and a portion of returns must be distributed to consumers, leaving insurers with reduced retained earnings.