The five A-share listed insurers have all disclosed their first-quarter reports for 2026. The performance of China Life Insurance, Ping An Insurance, PICC Group, China Pacific Insurance, and New China Life Insurance collectively reflects a divergent pattern characterized by robust liability-side operations and temporary pressure on the investment side.

In terms of net profit attributable to parent company shareholders, the five insurers together achieved approximately 69.883 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of about 17%, showing a "two rising, three falling" trend. However, judging by the new business value—a key operational indicator for life insurance—all five companies recorded positive growth, with increases ranging from 9.6% to 75.5%.

Analysts note that the sustained rapid growth in life insurance premiums benefits from strong demand for insurance savings amid the shift of deposits into other financial products. On the asset side, net profits were generally pressured by fluctuations in the equity market.

Profit divergence was notable in the first quarter. New China Life reported a net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 6.501 billion yuan, up 10.5% year-on-year, leading growth among the five insurers. China Pacific Insurance recorded a net profit of 10.041 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3%, and an operating profit of 10.523 billion yuan, up 3.6%, making it the only listed insurer to achieve growth in both net and operating profits.

In contrast, China Life, PICC Group, and Ping An saw their net profits decline by 32.3%, 31.4%, and 7.4%, respectively.

Industry analysts point out that the divergence in profits is mainly due to volatility in capital markets. In the first quarter, the five listed insurers collectively achieved investment income of 142.41 billion yuan, an increase of 58.535 billion yuan year-on-year. However, they also recorded a total fair value loss of 140.372 billion yuan, 120.332 billion yuan more than the loss in the same period last year.

Market conditions played a role: the CSI 300 Index fell 3.9% cumulatively in the first quarter, while the Hang Seng Index dropped 3.3%. Under the new accounting standards, a significant portion of equity assets is classified as fair value through profit or loss, meaning market value fluctuations directly impact current profits. Analysts note that some insurers' higher allocation to equities has made their profits more sensitive to market swings. Over the long term, life insurers are expected to continue benefiting from household asset reallocation, sustaining new business value growth. As market interest rates stabilize and capital markets improve, insurance stocks are likely to see a positive convergence of valuation and performance.

Excluding non-recurring major items not related to daily operations, Ping An’s operating profit attributable to parent company shareholders was 40.78 billion yuan, up 7.6% year-on-year.

In contrast to the investment side, all five listed insurers reported growth in new business value for life insurance during the first quarter. China Life led with a 75.5% increase, followed by New China Life with new business value of 4.655 billion yuan, up 24.7%. PICC Life saw growth of 21%, Ping An Life & Health rose 20.8%, and CPIC Life increased 9.6%.

Notably, bancassurance channels continued to contribute significantly. At Ping An Life & Health, bancassurance and community financial services channels accounted for 6.8 percentage points more of new business value year-on-year. CPIC Life’s first-year regular premiums via bancassurance grew 37.8%.

The strong growth in life insurance is driven by the accelerating shift of deposits into insurance products amid a low-interest-rate environment. The benchmark five-year fixed deposit rate at large state-owned banks fell to 1.3% in 2025, while traditional insurance products still offer long-term guaranteed returns of about 1.7%–1.9%. Participating insurance products, which combine a guaranteed return of 1.75% with floating earnings, have further attracted households seeking stable financial returns, boosting life insurers’ new business expansion.

In the property and casualty insurance sector, listed insurers continued to improve their combined ratios, enhancing underwriting profitability. PICC P&C’s combined ratio was 94.2%, down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year, with underwriting profit of 7.154 billion yuan, up 7.5%. Ping An P&C’s combined ratio improved 0.8 percentage points to 95.8%, while new energy vehicle insurance premium income rose 16.1%, maintaining stable underwriting profitability. CPIC P&C’s combined ratio improved 1.0 percentage points to 96.4%.

The improvement in property insurers’ combined ratios was partly due to significantly reduced catastrophe losses—direct economic losses from natural disasters nationwide in January–February 2026 were only 356 million yuan, down 96.2% year-on-year. At the same time, comprehensive management of non-auto insurance lines has led to improved expense ratios across various categories.

As of the close on April 30, the insurance sector showed signs of valuation recovery. Analysts expect strong household demand for insurance savings to drive new business value growth in 2026, with bancassurance remaining a key growth driver. On the asset side, insurers’ optimized asset allocation may outperform earlier market expectations. Analysts remain optimistic about valuation recovery opportunities for high-quality insurance stocks as interest rates stabilize and rebound.