In mid-to-late May, Andy Peterson, managing director of the International Department of the North American Society of Actuaries, came to China for the first time in nearly three and a half years.
“China is one of the largest insurance markets in the world. The epidemic has raised Chinese people’s awareness of insurance, especially young people’s demand for insurance is increasing. With the development of technology, higher requirements have been placed on the convenience of insurance services. The intensification of aging will allow this group of people to obtain protection different from the past.” Peterson said in an interview with China Business News.
From the perspective of premium scale in the insurance market, China is the second largest market in the world; from the perspective of driving factors, people’s awareness of insurance is getting higher and higher, the demand of middle-income groups is rising, and the continuous development of infrastructure and the aging population The trend of globalization has given China’s insurance industry, whose penetration rate is still low, more room for growth.
Based on this judgment, China has become a market that they pay more and more attention to. From May 18th to 19th this year, the China Annual Conference of the North American Society of Actuaries was held offline again, discussing the local macro environment and policy changes in recent years, focusing on capital and profit management, product strategies in the new environment and other fields.
New challenges after growth
According to data released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on May 4, the original insurance premium income of my country’s insurance industry will be 4.7 trillion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. By the end of 2022, the comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio of the insurance industry will be 196%, which is much higher than the 100% standard line.
Peterson pointed out that based on the huge population base, the growth of China’s insurance industry is sustainable. In addition to the motivation mentioned above, it is also because of the high penetration rate of mobile technology in China’s insurance industry, which makes it easier for consumers to apply for insurance and is also conducive to the rapid expansion of the market.
Under the general trend of growth, the development of China’s insurance industry in the post-epidemic era is facing new challenges.
Ma Jingwei, co-founder and executive director of Lima Technology, a Chinese insurance technology company, told China Business News that with the increase in the number of domestic insurance companies and the entry of foreign insurance companies, the domestic insurance market is gradually changing from a “seller’s market” to a “buyer’s market”. The market” has changed, the supply of insurance products has been greatly enriched, and the high-intensity market competition will promote more targeted innovation of insurance products and the improvement of insurance service quality.
On the other hand, as the “post-80s and post-90s” of Internet aborigines gradually become the main group of insurance consumers, the industry’s marketing methods and services are also undergoing changes, requiring insurance institutions to provide more accurate insurance products and services, and more Convenient and more streamlined product experience.
Ma Jingwei also pointed out that with the gradual deepening of domestic financial market reforms and changes in the investment environment, the supervision of the insurance industry is increasing day by day, and strengthening risk management and service quality has become a “compulsory course” for insurance companies. How to find new profit growth points beyond the “interest spread” and carry out product and service innovation on the basis of ensuring risk control has become a new challenge for the insurance industry.
Structural shortage of talents
Changes in regulatory policies and market demand have put forward higher requirements for talents.
According to Peterson’s observation, in China’s insurance industry, ordinary operation and sales talents are sufficient. However, there is a big gap for high-quality and high-tech talents like actuaries.
“Certified actuaries are talents who have the ability to transfer professional results to the insurance industry. There are only about 2,000 to 3,000 actuaries in China, and there are about 1,400 actuaries certified by the North American Association of Actuaries, corresponding to China’s 1.4 billion population. There is still huge room for demand.” He estimated that compared with the 25,000 actuaries in the United States serving more than 300 million people, China needs at least tens of thousands of actuaries. In the next 5 to 10 years, the scale of Chinese actuaries will maintain an annual growth rate of 8% to 10%.
“Actuaries must have strong technical and professional capabilities and creative thinking to meet the needs of the market. For example, from a financial perspective, if they cannot meet the new needs of the aging population, they need to create financially stable products to support the long-term and stable needs of individuals. “Peterson said that actuaries, as a global industry, need to learn from each other and communicate with each other, and after obtaining the certification and qualification of the North American Society of Actuaries, they can provide services to local people in various countries.
Returning to China for the first time in more than three years, Peterson has a full schedule. He said that on the basis that the association already has cooperative relations with 20 to 30 universities in China, he will visit more Chinese universities this time to seek further cooperation in order to jointly train Chinese students and help them obtain relevant information earlier. certified.
Ma Jingwei said that the continuous and in-depth digital transformation of the insurance industry has also promoted structural changes in the demand for talents in the industry. With the advancement of digitalization in the industry, the insurance industry will absorb more scientific and technological talents with data analysis and risk management to cope with market competition and regulatory requirements. At the same time, because AI and technology can improve the efficiency and productivity of insurance companies, help companies better understand customer needs and provide better services, the industry’s demand for talents in user experience design will also increase. Through user research, interaction design and other ways to improve product usability and user satisfaction. At the same time, some repetitive tasks may be replaced by automation.
Peterson also believes that the development of AI will replace some mechanized jobs. “But the biggest feature of our industry is making professional judgments based on scenarios, which is our key capability. Therefore, artificial intelligence cannot be easily replaced. We need to use artificial intelligence to better adapt to changes in the industry.”
