Ten bank-affiliated life insurance companies have unveiled their operating results for the first half of the year, showcasing remarkable profitability despite a moderate rise in premium income. Combined net profit for these institutions surged to 25.26 billion yuan, a substantial 162.58% year-on-year increase, with every single company achieving profitability.

This profit explosion starkly contrasts with the more measured 7.01% growth in total insurance business revenue, which reached 342.46 billion yuan. The significant divergence indicates that the sector's earnings boost is not primarily driven by underwriting performance but rather by external factors such as improved investment returns buoyed by a recovering equity market.

China Post Life Leads Rankings, BOC Samsung Life Turns Profitable

During the first half of 2026, all ten bank-affiliated insurers reported robust profit growth. China Post Life Insurance Co Ltd dominated the sector with a net profit of 7.068 billion yuan, marking a 36.52% year-on-year increase and firmly positioning it at the top. ICBC-AXA Life, ABC Life, and CCB Life followed closely behind, recording net profits of 4.317 billion yuan, 3.312 billion yuan, and 3.201 billion yuan respectively.

The earnings dynamics revealed significant disparities in growth rates across the group. CCB Life and Cigna & CMB Life witnessed exceptional profit elasticity, with net profit growth soaring by 466.53% and 467.88% respectively. ABC Life and ICBC-AXA Life also achieved substantial growth of over 200%. Notably, BOC Samsung Life experienced a dramatic turnaround, swinging from a loss of 543 million yuan in the same period last year to a profit of 710 million yuan, successfully reversing its performance trajectory.

Moderate Revenue Growth, Divergent Company Performance

In contrast to the profit surge, the growth in insurance business revenue was more subdued and showed considerable variation among individual companies. China Post Life continued to lead in revenue, exceeding the 129 billion yuan mark with a 9.37% year-on-year increase. CITIC-Prudential Life and Cigna & CMB Life demonstrated aggressive expansion, achieving revenue growth rates of 29.40% and 21.47% respectively.

However, the performance was not universally positive. ICBC-AXA Life, ABC Life, BOC Samsung Life, and BOCOM Life all saw their insurance business revenue decline compared to the previous year. BOCOM Life experienced the most significant drop at 9.48%, followed by declines of 4.50% and 3.12% for ABC Life and ICBC-AXA Life respectively.

The profit surge is largely attributed to a favorable investment environment. Industry insiders point to the recovering equity market, which improved investment returns, and the implementation of new accounting standards that more directly reflect fair value changes in current-period profits. Furthermore, the deepening "banking-insurance integration" policy has helped compress channel costs, with improved expense ratios contributing significantly to profit growth.

These insiders also emphasize that part of the current profit change stems from changes in accounting calibers. They note that there are differences between the current net profit and the comparable period of the previous year, and the true scale of operational improvement will require more detailed information from annual reports to confirm.

Channel Structure Shifts: CITIC-Prudential Strengthens Individual Sales

For the ten bank-affiliated insurers, the bancassurance channel remains their dominant force. In the first half of the year, these companies generated a total of 351.766 billion yuan in written premiums, with bancassurance contributing an overwhelming 310.772 billion yuan, accounting for 88.35%. The individual sales channel contributed only 6.21% of total premiums.

China Post Life, BOCOM Life, and BOC Samsung Life relied on the bancassurance channel for over 90% of their premium income. China Post Life reported that bancassurance accounted for 97.41% of its total premiums, while BOCOM Life and BOC Samsung Life saw proportions of 94.88% and 90.38% respectively. ABC Life, CCB Life, Cigna & CMB Life, and ICBC-AXA Life all had bancassurance channel proportions exceeding 85%.

This structure is deeply tied to the shareholder backgrounds of bank-affiliated insurers. Bank branches provide stable customer access and business contexts, making bancassurance the natural path for scale expansion.

Individual Sales Force Weaknesses Exposed

While scale is heavily concentrated in the bancassurance channel, the shortcomings in building individual sales teams have become apparent. This single-channel structure carries significant hidden risks, including passivity and deep operational vulnerabilities. Without a robust individual sales force serving as a core "moat," bank-affiliated insurers lack effective customer engagement points and find themselves in a relatively weak position in negotiations with banks.

Despite the blood ties within financial groups, these insurers often face an awkward situation of being "controlled by the channel" in internal profit distribution and resource competition. For instance, China Post Life, despite its leading premium scale, reported zero individual marketing agents at the period's end. Cigna & CMB Life had just 9 agents, having essentially exited substantive individual sales operations. BOCOM Life and BOC Samsung Life also had limited individual sales forces, with 524 and 987 agents respectively.

However, some bank-affiliated insurers are forging differentiated channel strategies. CITIC-Prudential Life achieved an individual sales channel proportion of 36.05% from premiums of 9.3 billion yuan, while its bancassurance channel contributed 14.7 billion yuan or 56.98% of total premiums, the lowest proportion among the ten companies. Sun Life Everbright Life also demonstrated a distinctive approach: while bancassurance remained its main channel, it maintained a more balanced mix across other channels, with individual sales accounting for 8.41%, group insurance for 8.60%, and other channels contributing a notable 17.11%.