The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission revealed that in the first half of the year, there was a net increase of 757 insurance branch institutions and a slower pace of branch closures by insurance companies year-on-year. The newly established branches mainly come from the recently opened ShenNeng Insurance; after removing this factor, insurance institution branches are still shrinking. The main branches that were closed were marketing service departments, with Taiping Life and Ping An Life having the highest closure rates.
On July 1st, Cailian News Agency reported (journalist Zou Juntao) that the rate of branch closures in the insurance industry in the first half of the year has slowed down.
On July 1st, Cailian News Agency reporters searched the website of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and learned that as of the latest data on July 1st, there were a total of 848 insurance branch institutions that withdrew from the market in the first half of this year. Compared with the same period last year, there were 192 fewer closures.
At the same time, the approved new branches (counted by the issuance date) of insurance branch institutions reached 1,605, with a net increase of 757. However, Cailian News Agency reporters noted that the new branches established this year mainly came from the newly opened ShenNeng Insurance, which has just approved the establishment of more than 1,200 new branches. After removing the ShenNeng Insurance factor, the scale of branch offices for life and property insurance continued to shrink in the first half of this year, with life insurance shrinking more significantly.
In the industry's view, for insurance companies, choosing to focus their operations in specific areas and withdrawing some of their branches from other regions is a reasonable management strategy with the rapid development of mobile internet.
A total of 848 insurance industry branches were closed in the first half of the year, 192 fewer than last year.
According to the latest data, as of the first half of this year, a total of 520 personal insurance branches and 328 property insurance branches withdrew from the market, totaling 848 branches. However, compared with the same period last year, the total number of branch closures in the entire industry in the first half of this year decreased by 192, a decrease of 18.46%.
In addition, the speed of branch closures has slowed down for both personal insurance and property insurance companies this year. According to regulatory data, in the first half of 2023, a total of 1,040 insurance branch institutions withdrew, including 649 personal insurance branch institutions and 391 property insurance branch institutions. Compared with this, in the first half of this year, the number of personal insurance branches closed decreased by 129, a decline of 19.88%, and the number of property insurance branches closed decreased by 63, a decline of 16.11%.
However, compared with the speed of newly established branches in the same period, the size of the branch network in the insurance industry continued to shrink in the first half of the year. According to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, in the first half of this year, there were 1,605 supervision-certified insurance institutions, of which Shenneng Property Insurance and branch institutions accounted for most with a total of 1,263.
It is worth noting that apart from the newly established Shenneng Insurance, only 342 new branches were approved for the insurance industry in the first half of this year, of which only 36 were personal insurance branches, still in a state of 'net decline' compared to the scale of withdrawals.
In September 2023, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved Shenneng Investment, Shanghai International Group, and eight other state-owned agencies to jointly establish Shenneng Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (Shenneng Insurance). In mid-January of this year, after Shenneng Insurance completed the business registration process, its various levels of institutions successively received licenses issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and its agencies.
It is noteworthy that apart from Shenneng Insurance, only 342 new branch offices were approved for the insurance industry in the first half of this year, of which only 36 were personal insurance branch offices, still in a 'net decline' compared to the scale of withdrawals in the same period.
In addition, the main type of branch that was closed was the marketing service department. The data shows that of the 848 insurance branch institutions that withdrew from the market in the first half of the year, 525 were marketing service departments, accounting for more than 60%. Among them, Taiping Life and Ping An Life had the largest number of closures in 2023, with Taiping Life and Ping An Life closing 73 and 63 marketing service departments, respectively. In addition, China Life Insurance and Taikang Life Insurance followed closely, closing 59 and 57 marketing service departments, respectively.
It is worth noting that apart from the newly established Shenneng Insurance, only 342 new branch offices were approved for the insurance industry in the first half of this year, of which only 36 were personal insurance branch offices, still in a 'net decline' compared to the scale of withdrawals in the same period.
It is worth noting that apart from the newly established Shenneng Insurance, only 342 new branch offices were approved for the insurance industry in the first half of this year, of which only 36 were personal insurance branch offices, still in a 'net decline' compared to the scale of withdrawals in the same period.
It is worth noting that apart from the newly established Shenneng Insurance, only 342 new branch offices were approved for the insurance industry in the first half of this year, of which only 36 were personal insurance branch offices, still in a 'net decline' compared to the scale of withdrawals in the same period.
In recent years, with the popularization of internet finance and the deepening of the "cleaning" of agent channels, some sales models of large and medium-sized insurance companies have begun to shift from offline to online, and the closure of end branches with poor profitability have become a trend in the industry.
According to senior actuary Xu Yuchen, if insurance companies target high-end clients in first- and second-tier cities, they may merge or reduce their branch institutions in the future, or even strengthen their layout if they choose to take root in the market county.
According to public reports, in 2021 and 2022, life insurance companies respectively reduced 1382 and 1701 branch institutions, net reduction of more than 2500 in two years after deducting newly established institutions. The block orders that were terminated were marketing services departments.