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Ping An executives say confident about 2009 premiums

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-24 16:14

China's Ping An Insurance has seen sound premium growth this year and will continue to do so throughout the year, company executives said on Tuesday.

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"Judging from premium growth momentum in the first three months, we're optimistic about our business this year," said Keith Li, the executive vice-president of Ping An Life Insurance Company.

Li attributed the growth to increased public awareness of insurance after a series of disasters in China last year, including the May 12 Sichuan earthquake.

On the property insurance side, the company expected to see double-digit growth in premiums in 2009, an executive told reporters.

"Although premiums growth will slow from previous years, we're confident that it will stay at double-digit level throughout the year," said Alex Ren, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An's property and casualty insurance arm.

Ping An collected combined premium incomes of 33.49 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in January and February, up 37.1 percent from a year earlier.

Annual growth in China's insurance premiums slowed in January because of the weakening economy, figures from the industry regulator showed.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said total premiums in January increased 8.6 percent from a year earlier to 114.8 billion yuan ($16.80 billion), down from annual growth of 55 percent in January 2008.