China's leading insurance-focused academic institution, Peking University CCISSR, and international insurance, savings and investments group Aviva signed a 10-year strategic partnership agreement today, paving the way for the two leaders to cooperate on a wide range of areas, from joint academic research projects, to sponsorship of the annual CCISSR forum, lecture series, and scholar programmes.
- First CCISSR-Aviva Insurance Research Series Report published today, outlining challenges and recommendations for the industry
China's leading insurance-focused academic institution, Peking University China Centre for Insurance and Social Security Research (CCISSR), and international insurance, savings and investments group Aviva signed a 10-year strategic partnership agreement today, paving the way for the two leaders to cooperate on a wide range of areas, from joint academic research projects, to sponsorship of the annual CCISSR forum, lecture series, and scholar programmes.
A key component of the agreement will be Aviva's sponsorship of the "Peking University CCISSR-Aviva Insurance Research Project," which will produce a series of annual research reports over the next 10 years. The series is aimed at expanding knowledge of China's insurance industry and contributing to the future development of the industry.
The first volume of the series was published yesterday, and it evaluates the achievements and challenges in China's insurance industry. The series also proposes ten general principles for a healthy and prudent development of the insurance industry.
Apart from the research series, Aviva is also the main sponsor of the annual CCISSR Forum, as well as the Peking University CCISSR-Aviva Insurance Lecture Series. Other areas of support includes the sponsorship of the "Aviva Honorary Professorship," and the CCISSR Visiting Scholar Programme.
Commenting on the strategic partnership, Professor Qixiang Sun, associate dean of the School of Economics at Peking University and director of CCISSR, said: "The new 10-year strategic partnership with Aviva serves is a good example of Peking University's international cooperation and strong ties in the insurance industry. With Aviva's support, many meaningful and valuable projects have been undertaken in the past year. These projects have helped us to build a stronger faculty, but also allowed us to make significant contribution to the development of China's insurance industry and its social security system."
Charles Anderson, managing director, Aviva Asia, said: "We are pleased and honoured to be the strategic partner of such a respected Chinese academic institution. The 10-year partnership will offer us a great platform to leverage Aviva's leading global expertise and CCISSR's excellent research capability and local knowledge to embark on research at the highest quality."
Mr Anderson also added that he is confident that the research series will be great contribution to the growth and development of a vibrant and healthy insurance industry in China.
The first report is titled China's Insurance Industry from the Perspective of Economic and Social Development: Evaluation, Issues and Prospects. This report is the result of a year-long study launched in May 2006 involving leading academics from CCISSR and input from Aviva following an in-depth examination of the industry's development over the last 27 years from a social and economic development perspective.
The report is a systematic evaluation of industry growth with critical analysis of various contributing factors. It also makes comprehensive recommendations for the China's insurance industry and social security system, and finally gives an independent outlook on future opportunities and challenges.
Commenting on the report's findings, Professor Sun said: "The research report consolidated our understanding of the journey the insurance industry has undergone and provided valuable tools to tackle problems facing the industry; hence, contributing to the development of China's insurance industry and its social security system."
Mr Anderson also complimented the first research report, saying: "The study offers some worthwhile strategies for our review of China's insurance sector, in particular using social and economic development to evaluate achievements and problems, and highlighting the need for systematic rather than an ad hoc approach to problem solving.
"China's insurance industry is entering a strong growth period. In the past five years, the insurance sector in China has seen annual growth of 35%, exceeding the financial sector's 15.8% annual rate and China's annual economic growth of 8.8%.
"Additionally, to fulfil its commitment to the World Trade Organization, China opened certain sectors of its insurance market to foreign companies in January 2005, with further opening slated in the near future. Many reforms have also been carried out in the insurance industry to raise competitiveness. The report, in a sense, can be seen as both a review of that process and a good theoretical and practical guideline for the industry in the future."
The Peking University CCISSR-Aviva Insurance Research Series Report
Each year, the Peking University CCISSR-Aviva Insurance Research Series will study various aspects of China's insurance industry and publish its findings in an annual report. This year's inaugural report is composed of three parts.
Firstly, it presents a systematic evaluation of the development of the insurance industry in China, which includes both the commercial and the policy-orientated insurance sectors.
Secondly, it contains analysis of the various factors that have led to the observed the current problems in China's insurance industry, ranging from industry-wide to China-specific issues, both internal and external.
Thirdly, it examines the development prospects of the Chinese insurance industry. Based on experiences in other markets and an analysis of China's current development situation, a shift in the development model for the Chinese insurance industry and a recommended path for development have been proposed.
The report further highlights 10 general development principles:
- The core function of insurance should be providing protections against risk
- The insurance mechanism should be a unity of compensation to damage and management of risks
- The insurance industry is human-capital intensive
- The insurance industry serves both as a manager of risks as well as a generator of risks
- Commercial insurers are not supposed to assume political obligations but should assume social responsibilities
- Good faith is the cornerstone underlying the development of the insurance industry
- The level of development of the insurance industry is ultimately determined by the level of economic development and the level of consumer recognition
- The supplier and the demander in the market should pay more attention to long-term effects
- Participants in insurance markets should make an effort to find a point of balance of interests
- The regulator's responsibility lies in and should be limited to correcting market failures.
-ends-
For further information please contact:
Haiyan Lee:
CCISSR
Tel: 86-10-8252 9308 or 86-10-8252 9127
Fax: 86-10-8252 9139
E-mail: jossie_lee@126.com
Jessica Lee
Aviva Asia Pte Ltd
Tel: 65-6321 7728
Fax: 65-6321 7724
E-mail: lee_jessica@ aviva-asia.com
Joe Zoe
Edelman Beijing
Tel: 86-10-6530-8590 Ext 245
Fax: 86-10-6530-8766
E-mail: joe.zoe@edelman.com
Notes to editors:
About Aviva
Aviva is the leading provider of life and pensions to Europe with substantial positions in other markets around the world, making it the world's fifth largest insurance group based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2005.
Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £41.5 billion and assets under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2006.
In China, Aviva has a 50:50 life insurance joint venture with China National Cereals, Oils & Foodstuffs Import & Export Corporation (COFCO), a major state-owned company.
Aviva-COFCO offers a full range of savings and protection products including retirement/pension plans, education savings plans, family income protection, mortgage and loan protection, and healthcare protection.
Aviva-COFCO has a presence in 17 cities, with six licensed branches in Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Jinan and Changsha, and eleven sales offices in Zhongshan, Foshan, Leshan and Shenzhen (in Guangdong province); Mianyang, Nanchong and Leshan (in Sichuan province); Xiamen and Quanzhou (in Fujian province), Yan Tai and Tai'An (in Shandong province).
About CCISSR
The China Center for Insurance and Social Security Research (CCISSR), Peking University was officially established in September 2003, with the approval from Peking University. The research center is a non-profit academic organization specialized in Insurance and Social Security studies. Professor Qixiang Sun is the director.
The mission of CCISSR is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and views, information sharing, education, and international cooperation in the field of China's insurance and social security and to build an integrated base for official bodies, the industry, education and research forces. Utilizing her dominant position and worldwide resources in the field of insurance education and research, the CCISSR wants to strengthen collaboration among insurance academia, regulatory bodies and the business community; to promote theoretical and practical research in insurance and social security; and to propagate insurance and social security knowledge. In 2006, the CCISSR was awarded "The Excellent Humanities and Social Sciences Scientific Research Institution of Peking University".