The Zhitong Finance App learned that Huachuang Securities released a research report saying that 2026H1 listed insurers generally had a high net profit increase, China Life Insurance showed outstanding performance, and the sector resonated with the equity market. However, the first half of the year was affected by capital and the “siphon” of the technology market, and the insurance sector continued to decline; since the second half of the year, it has moved from a “K-type” to a “rebalance”, and the insurance sector has already rebounded. Currently, most insurers' valuations are below the ten-year 50% quartile. Pessimistic expectations may have been fully reflected, and the bottom value is prominent. In the short term, the Q3 performance base of the overall sector is under relatively high pressure; in the long run, although the return on net investment is still on a downward channel, debt cost optimization hedges the pressure on interest spreads. The risk of “interest spread loss” is expected to converge, and the ability to manage capital and load linkage is expected to continue to improve, driving PEV valuation repair. In terms of financial insurance, risk reduction management service systems reduce payout rates, strict industry supervision promotes cost rate optimization, and COR improvements drive a steady rise in ROE and drive up PB.
The main views of Huachuang Securities are as follows:
Life insurance: The transformation of dividend insurance deepens, and individual insurance channels are picking up collectively
All NBV insurers listed on 2026H1 achieved positive growth, while China Life Insurance, Sunshine, Taibao, Xinhua, and Ping An maintained double-digit growth. The driving factors of volume and price are also differentiated. China Life Insurance is on the same page. Sunshine, Peace, and Taiping are driven by volume, and Taibao, Xinhua, and People Insurance are driven by price. Looking at each channel, individual insurers are picking up collectively, and new orders from all seven listed insurers are increasing; banking insurance channels are clearly fragmented, or may be affected by increased channel competition and cost control. In terms of product structure, the share of new dividend insurance orders from Xinhua, Taibao, and Taiping increased dramatically. The results of the industry's dividend insurance transformation have been further deepened, and new policies continue to dilute the cost pressure on existing insurance policies.
Industrial insurance: COR is generally optimized, and the growth rate of leading car insurance is slowing down
The overall premium growth rate of the 2026H1 property insurance industry slowed down. Taiping and Ping An outperformed their peers. Human Insurance and Taibao increased slightly, and Sunshine was under downward pressure due to active compression guarantee insurance. Looking at the types of insurance, with the exception of Taiping, the growth rate of car insurance has generally slowed; without car insurance differentiation, Ping An has shown outstanding performance driven by high growth in health insurance. In terms of profitability, with the exception of Taiping, listed insurers have all optimized COR, leading the industry in human insurance; car insurance COR has improved across the board, and non-car insurance performance is divided. Liability insurance is still a major drag, and the results of the integration of non-auto insurance reporting services are expected to be further demonstrated.
Investment: Equity was generally increased in the first half of the year, and most investment returns rose
The 2026H1 long-term interest rate center continues to decline, and the net return on investment is generally under pressure. Under the structured equity market, insurers are actively seizing investment opportunities, and the overall return on investment has mostly risen. In terms of the allocation structure, listed insurers continued to increase their equity, and the share of stocks and funds generally increased; the share of bonds fluctuated and diverged. In terms of accounting classification, the share of FVOCI in stocks fluctuates and differentiates, or reflects differences in insurers' stock strategies; the share of FVTPL in bonds has mostly declined. After the implementation of the new asset management regulations, it is expected that insurers will pay more attention to the “high dividend bottom+growth acquisition excess” strategy in terms of equity allocation.
Risk warning: Long-term interest rates are declining, equity market fluctuations, transformation falls short of expectations, and frequent natural disasters.