In Depth: China’s Tightening of Online Insurance Sales Starts to Bite

China’s efforts to rein in the burgeoning online personal insurance sector are starting to take a toll on many smaller and weaker players including money-losing Anxin Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd.

Months into the implementation of supplementary rules by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), many companies have either suspended or terminated sales of all or some of their online insurance products to comply, according to company notices released in December. They include Beijing-based insurers Dingcheng Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Kunlun Health Insurance Co. Ltd., and Livit Life Insurance Co. Ltd., as well as Hangzhou-based Sinatay Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and Chongqing-based China Three Gorges Life Insurance Co. Ltd.