People's Insurance Company of China
A Chinese state-controlled insurance group providing property, casualty, life, health, reinsurance, asset-management and alternative-investment services.
Last updated October 9, 2026
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Overview
People's Insurance Company of China, commonly known as PICC or PICC Group, is one of China's oldest and most prominent insurance institutions. Established in 1949, it was originally created as the People's Insurance Company of China under the People's Bank of China. Although its institutional form and supervisory arrangements changed repeatedly during the early decades of the People's Republic, the organization became a central vehicle for the development of China's modern insurance system. The group operates across several insurance and financial-services segments. Its principal operating businesses include PICC Property and Casualty, PICC Life, PICC Health, PICC Reinsurance, PICC Asset Management and PICC Capital. Property and casualty insurance is the group's best-known business and includes motor, commercial property, agricultural, liability, marine, engineering and other non-life products. PICC Life provides life and savings-oriented protection products, while PICC Health focuses on medical and health insurance. The group also manages insurance assets, invests across domestic and overseas markets, and uses alternative-investment platforms for infrastructure, healthcare, technology, energy and other strategic sectors. PICC's corporate structure reflects the restructuring of China's insurance industry. In the 1990s, it became a holding company with separate property, life and reinsurance businesses. China Life and China Re were subsequently separated from the group, while parts of the overseas business developed into the organization now associated with China Taiping. The property-insurance operation later became the foundation of the modern group. PICC Property and Casualty was re-established as a major subsidiary in the early 2000s and listed in Hong Kong in 2003. The parent group was reorganized and renamed several times before becoming The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited in 2009. It completed a Hong Kong H-share listing in 2012 and an A-share listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2018. The Ministry of Finance remains the controlling shareholder, making PICC a state-controlled financial institution. The National Social Security Fund has also been a significant shareholder, while international investors have participated in selected offerings and subsidiaries. PICC primarily serves the Chinese market through an extensive branch and agency network, while maintaining international offices and activities, including operations connected with London, New York and Hong Kong. The group has been included in major international corporate rankings, including the Fortune Global 500. Its market position is especially strong in Chinese property and casualty insurance, where PICC P&C has historically been the largest issuer by direct premiums. The brand is therefore associated with broad national reach, government-linked institutional strength and comprehensive insurance coverage rather than with a single consumer product. Its current role combines mass-market insurance distribution, corporate risk protection, public-policy support functions and institutional investment management.
History
PICC was established in 1949 as the People's Insurance Company of China and initially operated as a subsidiary of the People's Bank of China. Its early institutional history was unsettled. The company was reported to have been disestablished in 1950, after which insurance services were provided directly by the People's Bank of China, except during the period from 1952 to 1959 when the Ministry of Finance handled the function. PICC was re-established in 1965. In 1983, the insurance organization was separated from the People's Bank of China and placed under the supervision of the State Council. During the following period, the People's Bank acted as regulator, the Ministry of Finance supervised financial reporting, and the State Planning Commission helped coordinate industry planning. These arrangements reflected the government-directed structure of China's financial system before the creation of a specialized insurance regulator. PICC became a holding company in 1996 under the name People's Insurance Company (Group) of China. Separate subsidiaries were created for property insurance, life insurance and reinsurance. The group's structure then changed substantially in 1998 and 1999, when China Life and China Re were spun off and overseas activities associated with a former subsidiary developed separately into China Taiping. After these changes, the property-insurance business became the practical base of the reorganized PICC group. PICC Property and Casualty was re-established in 2003 from the former property-and-casualty division, with its effective formation linked to an earlier restructuring date. It was listed in Hong Kong in November of that year. The parent organization temporarily operated as PICC Holding Company before reverting in 2007 to a name based on People's Insurance Company Group of China. In 2009, it was incorporated as a joint-stock company with limited liability under its current group-company form. The group broadened its financial platform during the 2000s. PICC Life was formed in 2005 as a Sino-foreign joint venture, initially involving Sumitomo Life, Asia Financial Holdings and Bangkok Bank. PICC Health was also established in 2005 with foreign participation that included Germany's DKV. PICC Capital was created in 2009 as the group's alternative-investment platform, while PICC Asset Management became responsible for managing insurance assets, including non-renminbi and cross-border investments. PICC Reinsurance was established as a group reinsurance vehicle serving PICC's insurance operations. PICC obtained a Hong Kong listing in 2012 and a Shanghai listing in 2018. The Ministry of Finance remained its controlling shareholder, while the National Social Security Fund became another significant state-linked investor. The group has maintained a broad domestic branch network and international offices or activities in locations including Hong Kong, London and New York. Its scale and role have made it a recurring presence in global company rankings. In contemporary form, PICC combines a dominant Chinese non-life-insurance franchise with life, health, reinsurance, investment-management and alternative-investment businesses.
- 2018
Shanghai A-share listing
[1]PICC lists A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
- 2012
Hong Kong H-share listing
[1]PICC lists H shares in Hong Kong, with AIG participating as a cornerstone investor.
- 2009
Current joint-stock structure adopted
[1]The group is reincorporated as The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited.
- 2005
Life and health platforms expand
[1]PICC forms PICC Life and establishes PICC Health, adding dedicated life and health-insurance businesses.
- 2003
PICC Property and Casualty is listed
[1]PICC P&C is re-established as a major subsidiary and lists on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- 1996
Converted into a holding company
[1]PICC adopts a group structure with separate property, life and reinsurance subsidiaries.
- 1983
Separated from the People's Bank of China
[1]The insurance organization becomes a separate entity supervised by the State Council.
- 1965
Institution re-established
[1]PICC is re-established after a period in which insurance functions were handled by other state institutions.
- 1949
PICC is founded
[1]The People's Insurance Company of China is established as an insurance subsidiary of the People's Bank of China.
Products and positioning
A comprehensive, state-controlled Chinese insurance group with leading national distribution and a particularly strong property-and-casualty franchise.
Property and casualty insurance · 2003
PICC Property and Casualty
PICC P&C is the group's principal non-life-insurance subsidiary and historically China's largest property-and-casualty insurer. It offers motor, commercial property, agricultural, liability, marine, engineering and other general-insurance products. The business is licensed across major non-life lines and also acts as a designated Mainland China agent for many international insurers.
Life insurance · 2005
PICC Life
PICC Life provides life-protection and savings-oriented products, including endowment-style policies. It was formed as a Sino-foreign joint venture in 2005 and later became predominantly owned by PICC and its subsidiaries.
Health insurance · 2005
PICC Health
PICC Health is the group's dedicated health-insurance platform. Established in 2005 with foreign participation, it focuses on medical and health-related protection products in the Chinese market.
Insurance asset management
PICC Asset Management
PICC Asset Management manages insurance assets for the group and supports domestic, non-renminbi and cross-border investment activity. It serves as the group's principal investment-management arm.
Alternative investment · 2009
PICC Capital
Established in 2009, PICC Capital is PICC's alternative-investment platform. It makes debt and equity investments in areas such as infrastructure, energy, healthcare, inclusive finance and technology. Its subsidiary PICC Capital Equity Investment serves as the group's private-equity platform.
Reinsurance
PICC Reinsurance
PICC Reinsurance provides reinsurance services within the group, including support for PICC P&C. It is jointly owned by PICC Group and PICC P&C.
Non-life insurance · 2002
The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong)
PICC's Hong Kong subsidiary provides non-life insurance. It was acquired in 2002 and had previously operated under other corporate names before becoming part of the PICC group.
Controversies
2018
Former president Wang Yincheng sentenced to 11 years in first instance in bribery case
On May 24, 2018, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang Yincheng, former president of PICC Group, to 11 years in prison at first instance. The court found that from 2006 to 2016 he used his positions as vice president and president of PICC P&C and president of PICC Group to accept more than 8.7 million yuan in bribes.
Brand decisions
2018
Completed Shanghai A-share listingM&ABackground
After its Hong Kong listing, PICC expanded access to Mainland Chinese equity investors.
Action taken
The group listed A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Aftermath
PICC became publicly traded through both Mainland and offshore share classes.
2012
Completed Hong Kong public offeringM&ABackground
PICC sought international capital-market access while retaining state control.
Action taken
The group listed H shares on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
Aftermath
The listing broadened PICC's investor base and was followed by a Shanghai A-share listing in 2018.
1996
Adopted a multi-subsidiary holding-company structureStrategyBackground
PICC reorganized its activities into distinct property, life and reinsurance businesses.
Action taken
The group created separate operating subsidiaries and used a holding-company model.
Aftermath
The structure was later reshaped through the spin-offs of China Life and China Re and the reorganization of the property business.
Recent events
Tencent WeSure launches COVID-related insurance products[6]
Reported:
Tencent WeSure announced that it had launched insurance products including accident coverage for COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 nucleic-acid testing coverage and a Spring Festival protection plan for small merchants, alongside a previously available free COVID-19 benefit.
Weixin Pay, WeSure and PICC launch a Spring protection plan for small merchants[7]
Reported:
Weixin Pay, WeSure and PICC introduced an upgraded Spring protection plan for small merchants using Weixin Pay's 收款小账本. Eligible merchants could claim COVID-19 coverage for one point, with a stated benefit of RMB 30,000 for a confirmed case and up to RMB 60,000 for a couple.
PICC Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund project signed[8]
Reported:
PICC Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund was signed at a Shanghai project-signing event. Under the agreement, PICC Capital would initiate the fund through PICC Equity, with contributions from PICC insurance subsidiaries, Shanghai Science and Technology Venture Capital (Group) Co., Ltd., and the Shanghai Jing'an District People's Government.
Sources8 sources
- 1People's Insurance Company of Chinaen.wikipedia.org
- 2PICC official websitepicc.com
- 3The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limitedwikidata.org
- 4中国人民保险集团zh.wikipedia.org
- 5Former president Wang Yincheng sentenced to 11 years in first instance in bribery casem.ccdi.gov.cn
- 6腾讯微保推出多款抗疫保险产品prnasia.com
- 7微信支付、微保与中国人保推出小商户春节保障计划prnasia.com
- 8人保上海科创基金项目签约finance.sina.com.cn
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