FOREIGN INSURERS COULD SEE CHINESE MARKET SHARE DOUBLE BY 2010

Premiums written by foreign insurers on the Chinese mainland could see their market share double within three years, while the amount of premium written in absolute terms could increase fivefold, according to a survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers. In research that obtained replies from 24 of the 40 foreign players on the mainland, PwC found that insurers expected premiums to increase by at least 400% to nearly 80bn yuan ($10.6bn) a year by 2010, with market share growing from the current 6% to at least 10% in the same time period. The insurers planned to increase their number of agents to 192,000 from the current 80,000 and to increase the number of branches they operate by just over 100% to 211. The number of sub-branches was likely to increase by 200% to 829, while employed staff would roughly double in numbers to 34,500. The largest foreign life player on the Chinese mainland is AIA, a subsidiary of AIG, with premium income of 6.94bn yuan in 2006, closely followed by Generali China Life (5.38bn yuan). AIG was the largest foreign non-life player, with total premium income last year of 698m yuan. In second place was Tokio Marine Nichido Fire with 300m yuan in premiums.