China's insurers ill-prepared for market reversal: Bloomberg
China's insurance industry has entered a boom cycle, with premium revenue surging by 88% and total assets rising 49% in the past two years, according to a Bloomberg op-ed. Meanwhile, claims are up just 43%. However, a PwC survey has found that 47% of Chinese insurance firms "haven't developed any methods at all" to conduct risk and solvency analysis, with most lacking basic internal controls. Furthermore, China's modern insurance industry does not appear to have much to do with insurance, with firms viewing the sector as a capital-raising exercise — not a way to protect companies and individuals against risk.
A worker cleans the windows of a building in front of the Ping An Insurance building in Shanghai. A new PwC survey casts doubt on whether China’s insurers are doing enough to keep a firm grip on investment risk. Photo: Eeuters