China Life Insurance Co posted a significant rise in net profit for the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), supported by resilient investment returns and steady demand for savings products.
The Beijing-based insurer reported earnings of 28.8 billion yuan (US$4 billion), a 40% increase from 20.6 billion yuan a year earlier, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
According to Bloomberg’s report, the company’s performance was aided by a shift towards high-dividend stocks and higher-yielding bonds, which helped mitigate the effects of a broader stock market downturn during the period.
China Life’s investment income reached 25.2 billion yuan, more than four times the figure recorded in the same quarter of 2024. However, it also registered 2.4 billion yuan in fair-value losses on investments, reversing the prior year’s gains.
The insurer’s sales were buoyed by increased consumer demand for savings-oriented insurance products in a low interest rate environment. New business value, which measures the profitability of newly issued policies, rose 4.8% year-on-year, slowing from the 24.3% increase recorded in 2024. Total premium income expanded by 5% during the period.
In January, China Life announced that its 2024 full-year net profit was expected to more than double, supported by strong equity investment returns amid favourable market conditions.
The company projected net income to grow between 122% and 144%, reaching between 102.4 billion yuan and 112.6 billion yuan.
This comes as Swiss Re’s 2024 sigma report forecast a steady rise in global life insurance premiums, driven by macroeconomic trends and demographic changes. The reinsurer expects premiums to grow at an average annual rate of 3% in 2025 and 2026, more than double the rate seen over the past decade.
Paul Murray, Swiss Re’s CEO of life and health reinsurance, said demographic changes and economic conditions are aligning to support premium growth. Retirees seek stable income, and insurers are responding to that demand.
According to Swiss Re, savings products are seeing robust demand, particularly in the US and China. In China, expected reductions in guaranteed interest rates have prompted consumers to seek long-term savings solutions, a trend projected to continue.
In advanced economies, the report projects a gradual shift from fixed annuities to index-linked products as monetary policy eases. Unit-linked policies have already gained traction in European markets such as Italy and France, and this trend is expected to spread to other regions by 2025.
Growth in life risk protection products is forecast at 2.7% annually for 2025 and 2026, slightly lower than the long-term average. Demand for disability and long-term care insurance remains strong in European markets, supported by aging populations and rising healthcare costs.
