PICC Life

The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited

Company type	State-owned enterprise
Industry	Insurance
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Beijing , China
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Property and casualty insurance, life insurance, health insurance, asset management, reinsurance
Owner	Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China (majority shareholder)

The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited, commonly referred to as PICC Group or simply PICC, is a state-owned insurer in China, under the control of the Chinese Central Government.

Its principal subsidiaries comprise PICC Asset Management, PICC Life, and PICC Property and Casualty (PICC P&C), with the latter also being publicly listed.

History

Originally established in 1949 as The People's Insurance Company of China (PICC; ) under the auspices of the People's Bank of China, PICC was reportedly dissolved in 1950. Between 1952 and 1959, insurance functions were overseen by the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The company was reconstituted in 1965 and later separated from the People's Bank of China in 1983 to come under the jurisdiction of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

In 1996, PICC transformed into a holding entity named People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (), establishing distinct subsidiaries dedicated to property, life, and reinsurance businesses. During 1998–99, China Life and China Re were spun off, while international operations were consolidated into what is now known as China Taiping Insurance Group Limited. Following this reorganization, the property insurance entity became the new PICC holding company.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission was created in 1998 to supervise PICC. In July 2003, PICC launched a new subsidiary, PICC Property and Casualty (PICC P&C), spun off from its property and casualty operations. At the same time, PICC restructured as PICC Holding Company (). Although initially formed in 1996 and merged back in 1999, PICC P&C went public in November 2003.

In 2007, PICC Holding reverted to its former name, People's Insurance Company Group of China (). The company re-registered as a joint stock limited company in 2009 under its current title. Its H shares debuted on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2012, followed by A shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2018. The US-based insurer American International Group (AIG) acted as a cornerstone investor during both the 2012 IPO and the earlier 2003 IPO for PICC P&C.

Businesses

PICC operates branch offices in major global cities including London and New York, alongside numerous outlets throughout China.

Since 2010, PICC has been featured in the Fortune Global 500, ranking 121st in the 2019 listing. It is also included in the Forbes Global 2000, where it was positioned at number 155 in 2019.

PICC Property and Casualty

PICC Property and Casualty (PICC P&C), a subsidiary of PICC, stands as China's leading provider of property and casualty insurance. It holds licenses to offer all principal lines except life insurance and serves as Mainland China's appointed agent for most foreign insurers. By 2018, PICC P&C commanded a market share of 33.0% within its sector. According to S&P Global Ratings, it held a direct premium market share of 34.0% during the first half of 2017, ranking first ahead of Pingan Insurance at 19.6%.

The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong)

In Hong Kong, PICC owns a controlling interest of 75% in The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong) Limited (), with Asia Financial Holdings holding a minority stake as of 2018. This entity was formerly known as Peterson Insurance Company Limited and Guangdong Asia Insurance Company Limited before being acquired by PICC from Guangdong Holdings in 2002. The subsidiary primarily specializes in non-life insurance offerings.

PICC Life Insurance

Established in 2005, PICC Life Insurance () is a Sino-foreign joint venture formed with Japanese insurer Sumitomo Life holding a 29% stake, while Hong Kong-listed and Thai-listed Bangkok Bank each possessed 10%. Following multiple rounds of capital injections, PICC directly controlled 71.077% of the shares by 2018, alongside an additional 8.615% through its subsidiary PICC P&C and 0.308% via PICC Asset Management. Collectively, foreign investors accounted for just 20% ownership.

Specializing in savings-focused endowment insurance products, PICC Life commanded a 3.6% share of the life insurance market in 2018. S&P Global Ratings reported that in the first half of 2017, the company ranked fourth in policy volume with a 4.3% market share, marking a significant rise from tenth place in 2016.

As of 2019, Moody's Investors Service assigned PICC Life an A2 rating for financial strength with a stable outlook.

In 2012, PICC Life purchased a 4.98% equity interest in Industrial Bank (China), contributing to PICC’s total holding of 10.87%, positioning it as the bank’s second-largest shareholder. The president of PICC Life joined the bank's board in 2013, followed by subsequent leadership adjustments. Since 2016, PICC has also maintained a minority stake in , with executives from PICC Life serving as non-executive directors.

PICC Health Insurance

Founded in 2005 as a joint venture with German insurer (part of Ergo Group under Munich Re), PICC Health Insurance Company Limited () held a modest 1.0% market share by policy volume within life insurance during the first half of 2017, ranking nineteenth according to S&P Global Ratings.

By 2018, DKV’s ownership had decreased to 2.2174%, while Chinese entity Capital Airport Holding held 2.3342%. The majority control remained with PICC Group and its subsidiaries: PICC Group directly owned 69.3239%, PICC P&C held 24.7262%, and an additional subsidiary accounted for 1.3983%.

PICC Asset Management

PICC Asset Management (PICC AM) functions as the investment division responsible for managing PICC’s non-Renminbi denominated assets, facilitating international investment initiatives and supervising overseas portfolio activities.

PICC Capital

Launched in July 2009 as a wholly owned subsidiary of PICC, PICC Capital Investment Management Company Limited (PICC Capital) operates as the group's exclusive platform for alternative investments and stands as China’s first specialized asset manager within the insurance industry. It plays an integral role in optimizing strategic asset allocation and securing key resources for PICC Group. Utilizing PICC’s extensive brand influence and network, PICC Capital targets investments across infrastructure, energy, inclusive finance, healthcare, and technology incubation sectors through both debt and equity instruments.

Equity investments are executed via its fully owned affiliate, PICC Capital Equity Investment Company Limited (PICC PE). Authorized by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2017, PICC PE serves as the sole private equity vehicle for PICC Group and is among sixteen insurance-backed private equity fund managers nationwide. Its current portfolio includes managing an RMB 3 billion fund dedicated to healthcare investments.

PICC Re

PICC Reinsurance (PICC Re) delivers reinsurance services to the publicly traded subsidiary PICC P&C. This entity operates as a joint venture between PICC Group and PICC P&C with ownership divided at 51% and 49%, respectively. The reinsurer benefits from robust capital backing and operational support predominantly provided by PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited.

Headquarters

The main office of the company is situated within the China People's Insurance Building (PICC Building) in Beijing's Xicheng District. Additional office premises bearing the PICC name are found in Guangzhou and Chongqing, specifically the PICC Life Insurance Building.

Shareholders

PICC offers two categories of ordinary shares: domestically traded A shares and H shares that are listed outside Mainland China. Residents of Mainland China can acquire H shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programs, which also enable international investors to access A shares reciprocally.

As of 31 December 2018, the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China (MOF) served as the principal shareholder, owning 67.60% of the company. The MOF additionally holds major equity positions in prominent financial entities such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Cinda Asset Management, and China Re. The state-managed pension fund, known as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), possessed a combined total of 9.79% in PICC shares (both A and H) as reported in 2018; furthermore, MOF transferred an extra 6.76% to NSSF in 2019.

Among previous notable shareholders was the American insurer American International Group (AIG), which held a 2.52% stake in total shares (equivalent to 12.76% of H shares) in 2018 but fully exited its position by February 2019. Earlier, AIG had divested most of its holdings in PICC’s subsidiary PICC P&C during the period from 2005 to 2006.

PICC’s H shares have been part of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index since January 2020. Meanwhile, its A shares are components of key indices including the Hang Seng China 50 Index, the CSI 300 Index—which encompasses the blue-chip subset CSI 100—and the SSE 180 Index, incorporating the blue-chip subset SSE 50 from June 2019 onward.