The sharp decline in the number of individual insurance agents in China reflects an inevitable shift toward industry maturity—a positive adjustment from extensive growth to refined, specialized development. This transition lays a solid foundation for the long-term healthy growth of the insurance sector. Leading insurers have begun to see early results from years of transformation, with improvements in agent channel efficiency, team structure, and quality.

Since 2015, the insurance agent workforce experienced rapid expansion, peaking in 2019 before declining in 2020. As demographic dividends fade, the traditional model of driving premium growth through rapid agent recruitment has become unsustainable. Issues such as inflated headcounts, excessive reliance on self-purchased policies, and regulatory arbitrage emerged, prompting stricter oversight. The pandemic further accelerated the industry’s shift from "scale expansion" to "quality improvement," with agent numbers plummeting from 8.43 million in early 2020 to 5.9 million by end-2021.

Regulatory reforms, including the 2020 draft rules on agent supervision, emphasized independent agent systems and stricter compliance. Insurers also prioritized digital channels, using technology to enhance agent productivity and service quality.

**Key Insurers’ Transformation Strategies:** 1. **Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (601318)**: - Implemented the "4+3" strategy, integrating individual, bancassurance, group, and digital channels with three product lines (protection, savings, investment). - Agent productivity rose despite headcount reductions, with higher education levels (48.3% bachelor’s degree or above by mid-2025).

2. **China Life Insurance**: - Launched the "Dingxin Project" in 2019 to streamline operations and boost digitalization. - Focused on "insurance + healthcare + retirement" ecosystems, shifting from sales-driven to service-driven models.

3. **CPIC (China Pacific Insurance)**: - Advanced the "Long Voyage Action," improving agent professionalism and client-centric services. - Core agents achieved 12.7% higher premium productivity YoY in H1 2025.

4. **New China Life Insurance**: - Introduced the "XIN Generation" program, upgrading training, incentives, and career paths. - High-performing agents (IDA standards) grew significantly, targeting elite recruitment.

**Challenges & Future Directions**: - **Pain Points**: Weak demand for protection products, mismatched agent skills for high-net-worth clients, inadequate training systems, and reduced commissions under "fee-for-service" rules. - **Opportunities**: Agents’ unique role in client engagement, ecosystem integration (e.g., healthcare/wealth management), and strategic alignment with insurers.

**Regulatory Impact**: The 2025 "fee-for-service" policy mandates commission transparency, favoring insurers with robust compliance. While agent numbers dropped 71% from 2019 to 264,000 by 2024, the shift toward value-driven models mirrors mature markets like the U.S. and Japan, where professional, multi-role agents thrive.

Analysts view this transformation as critical for sustainable growth, with multi-channel strategies replacing reliance on individual agents alone.