China Insurance Premiums Hit RMB 3.86 Trillion in H1 2026, Shift to Risk and Care

In the first half of 2026, China's insurance market continued to run steadily. Data show that in the first half of the year, original insurance premium income reached RMB 3.86 trillion, up 3.3% year on year; compensation and benefit payments totaled RMB 1.40 trillion, up 3.8% year on year. The synchronized growth of premium income and claims payments reflects the continuous enhancement of insurance protection functions and the improving ability of the insurance industry to serve the real economy and safeguard people's livelihoods. The China Insurance Association recently held its second routine press conference for 2026. As population aging accelerates, extreme weather becomes more frequent, and residents' risk protection needs continue to upgrade, the insurance industry is expanding its service boundaries, shifting from traditional ex-post compensation to risk reduction, health management, and elderly care services. Since the 2026 flood season began, many regions have suffered natural disasters such as heavy rainfall, typhoons, and landslides. The insurance industry quickly activated emergency response mechanisms and actively participated in disaster relief and post-disaster recovery. As of now, for natural disasters affecting 20 provinces, the insurance industry has cumulatively received 533,000 claims, with estimated losses of RMB 11.05 billion and paid compensation of RMB 5.53 billion. In recent years, the insurance industry has gradually moved services forward, placing greater emphasis on risk reduction management. Before disasters, insurers strengthen risk inspections, conduct emergency drills, and pre-position rescue forces; during disasters, they carry out indiscriminate free rescue through police-insurance and government-insurance coordination; after disasters, they use claims services such as the “three exemptions and four fast tracks” to help affected residents resume normal production and life as soon as possible. With the increase in extreme weather events, the value of insurance is reflected not only in post-disaster compensation but also in pre-disaster prevention and mid-disaster rescue. The insurance industry is transforming from an “economic compensator” to a “risk manager. ” At present, the acceleration of population aging is driving profound changes in elderly care demand. Residents are no longer concerned only with the accumulation of pension funds but also place greater emphasis on full-life-cycle services such as medical care, rehabilitation, nursing, and caregiving. Pension finance has entered a new development stage. The insurance industry is transitioning from simple “fund reserves” to “fund reserves plus risk protection plus wellness and elderly care services. ” The pension insurance system is continuously improving, product supply is being enriched, age-friendly services are being optimized, the wellness and elderly care ecosystem is gradually taking shape, and long-term capital allocation capacity is constantly rising. Many insurance institutions continue to increase investment in wellness and elderly care, combining insurance products with senior living communities, medical resources, and health management to promote a comprehensive service system covering pension planning, health management, medical services, and long-term care. China Pacific Insurance has upgraded its “big health” strategy to a “big wellness and elderly care” strategy, pushing elderly care services from single-point deployment to a full-chain ecosystem. Taikang Insurance continues to deepen its integrated model of elderly care and medical care, having already laid out elderly care projects in key cities nationwide. China Life Insurance focuses on the construction of the three pillars of pension, continuously improving its commercial pension insurance product system while optimizing age-friendly services. Ping An Life Insurance, around its “insurance plus medical plus elderly care” model, is building a service system covering multiple scenarios. In addition, many insurance institutions are advancing barrier-free renovations of business outlets, optimizing counter service processes, and launching age-friendly services such as large-print interfaces and home visits to make insurance services more convenient for the elderly. Digital technology is also empowering elderly care services; insurers are improving service efficiency and coverage through online claims and remote health management. Elderly care services are long-term and continuous. Insurers leveraging their advantages in long-term capital management and risk management, in coordination with medical, rehabilitation, and nursing resources, will be an important direction for future pension finance.