China's mid-end medical insurance market may top US$3.2b in 2018
China's mid-end medical insurance market value is expected to surge to 20 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) in 2018 boosted by the rising demand for consumption upgrading among the expanding Chinese middle-class, according to Zhongan Online P&C Insurance Co.
By 2020, the value is projected to top 80 billion yuan, accounting for 6.9 percent of the country’s overall insurance sector, said Tan Tengyue, product head of Zhongan Health, a unit of the online insurer.
From 2015 to 2017 China's mid-range medical insurance market stood at 500 million yuan, 1.2 billion yuan and 8 billion yuan, respectively, according to Zhongan’s research. During the same period, its proportion in health insurance premiums rose from 0.2 percent to 1.8 percent.
The mid-end medical insurance market mainly targets the growing middle class in the world's second largest economy. The online insurer sees the segment getting attractive to more people as it is now the most dynamic part of the health insurance market .
The health insurance segment has led the industry in recent years, rising by a compound annual growth rate of 27.6 per cent from 2007 to 2017, according to data from regulatory bodies.