China Re notes rapid growth in H1

China Reinsurance (Group) Corp recorded an annual increase of 27.8 percent in gross written premiums and a year-on-year growth of 42.4 percent of its profit in the first half, according to its interim report.

Its premiums jumped 27.8 percent year over year to hit 84.7 billion yuan (US$11.8 billion) in the January-to-June period and the net profit amounted to 3.3 billion yuan, an increase of 42.4 percent compared with a year ago.

The growth was mainly attributable to rapid development of protection-type business of life and health reinsurance and financial reinsurance business as well as the addition of premium income from Chaucer.

Last September, the company and the Hanover Insurance Group entered into an agreement to acquire 100-percent equity interests in Chaucer, whose business covers the direct insurance and reinsurance segment.

China Re said its business structure continued optimizing in the first six months, registering a respective of 23 percent and 35 percent of year-on-year growth of domestic non-motor insurance business of P&C reinsurance and primary P&C insurance.

In the first half, the group’s total investment income amounted to 6.1 billion yuan, jumping 21.5 percent year over year and its net profit attributable to equity shareholders came to 3.3 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent.

Its primary P&C insurance segment, operated by China Continent Insurance, saw gross written premiums up 11.1 percent from a year ago to hit 24.3 billion yuan, making a net profit of 840 million yuan from January to June.

As the country’s largest domestic P&C reinsurance company, China Re offers a wide variety of P&C reinsurance coverage, including motor, commercial property, agriculture, liability and engineering insurance.

In the first half, the company said it had fully promoted its strategic transformation and established a customer-oriented comprehensive operation system. As of the end of June, it maintained business relationships with 83 (or 94.3 percent of) domestic P&C insurance companies.

It said it would continue to focus on three major strategies — platform operation, technology advancement and globalization — to enhance the quality and efficiency of its business operation.