(Yicai Global) May 22 -- The performance of China’s insurance sector was better than expected in the first three months, the new regulatory body tasked with supervising the country’s financial sector said in its first work meeting today.

In one of its first duties since its inauguration on May 18, the National Administration of Financial Regulation reviewed the solvency and risk profile of key insurers and the sector as a whole. Solvency supervision is an important way of monitoring risk in the sector and detecting early warning signs.

Revenue from insurance premiums jumped 9.2 percent in the first three months from a year ago to CNY1.9 trillion (USD277.4 billion), the regulator said. The annualized rate of return on the investment of insurance funds was 5.2 percent, showing a good upward trend, it said.

Solvency ratios, which are a gauge of the risks faced by insurers, narrowed significantly and remained within a reasonable range, it said. The average comprehensive solvency ratio of the 185 insurance firms was 190.3 percent, and the average core solvency ratio was 125.7 percent.

Newly added insurance policies surged 34.6 percent to CNY15.8 billion (USD2.2 billion) in the three months ended March 31, while the amount in compensation paid jumped 9.3 percent to CNY493.2 billion (USD70.1 billion), it said.

Insurance firms had CNY28.4 trillion (USD4 trillion) in assets as of March 31, an increase of 4.5 percent from the beginning of this year, it said. The balance of capital utilization in the insurance sector climbed 10.7 percent to CNY26.3 trillion. Actual capital reached CNY4.7 trillion (USD668.7 billion) and the minimum capital requirement was CNY2.4 trillion.

The National Administration of Financial Regulation was established in March to replace the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and to take on some supervisory duties, such as the protection of financial consumers and investors, from China’s central bank.

Li Yunze, former vice governor of southwestern Sichuan province, was appointed head of the regulatory body on May 10.

Editor: Kim Taylor