China insurers' assets near $1.45 trillion

The total assets of China's insurance industry had reached 8.95 trillion yuan ($1.45 trillion) by the end of the first quarter of 2014, up 7.93 percent from the start of the year, official data showed on Monday.

The rising assets came after insurance premiums amounted to 699.98 billion yuan in the first three months of this year, up 35.9 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In breakdown, property insurance premiums rose 16.14 percent to 175.7 billion yuan in the first quarter, while life insurance premiums reached 460.74 billion yuan, up 42.9 percent.

During the first quarter, insurance claims totalled 185.93 billion yuan in value, up 25 percent.

By the end of March, Chinese insurers' capital investment rose 6.97 percent to 8.22 trillion yuan, the data showed.