Over 100 billion "Red Envelope Rain"! A glimpse into the 2025 dividend outlook of the five major listed insurance companies: some insurers have increased dividends for 14 consecutive years

Ask AI · How is the operational confidence behind high dividends from insurance companies forged?

China Life Insurance, China Property & Casualty Insurance, Ping An, China Taiping, and New China Life’s 2025 annual performance and dividend plans have all been fully disclosed, and an investor-targeted “billion-yuan rain of bonuses” is set to arrive as scheduled. On March 30, Beijing Business Daily reporter statistics show that the five listed insurance companies’ full-year net profit attributable to shareholders combined reached RMB 425.291 billion, with an annual proposed dividend amount of over RMB 100 billion, delivering a solid “return answer sheet” to the market with their strength.

However, when investors see dividend plans of hundreds of billions of yuan from various insurers, they can’t help but wonder, amid their delight: can this “bonus rain” continue to arrive on schedule year after year? Where exactly does the confidence behind the high dividends come from?

Five insurers plan dividends exceeding RMB 100 billion; Ping An has been increasing for 14 years

Beyond operating performance itself, the dividend plans of the five major listed insurers in the A-share market are also tightly watched by investors. Based on Beijing Business Daily reporter reviews and statistics, the total proposed dividends of these five insurers have already exceeded RMB 100 billion.

Specifically, China P&C Insurance plans to distribute a cash dividend for 2025 final (year-end) period of RMB 1.45 per 10 shares (including tax), for a total distribution of RMB 6.412 billion. The total annual cash dividends will be RMB 9.729 billion, representing 20.9% of net profit, and the dividend amount sets a historical record high.

China Life’s board of directors recommends distributing a cash dividend for 2025 final (year-end) period of RMB 6.18 per 10 shares (including tax). Combined with the 2025 interim cash dividend already distributed, the total dividends for the full year will be RMB 8.56 per 10 shares (including tax), with a total dividend amount of RMB 24.195 billion, up 31.7% year over year.

As another major “dividend payer,” Ping An has continued to increase its dividend payout ratio in recent years. Regarding its 2025 dividends, the company stated that it plans to distribute a 2025 final (year-end) period dividend of RMB 1.75 in cash per share; the full-year cash dividend will be RMB 2.70 per share, up 5.9% year over year; and the total cash dividends will reach RMB 48.891 billion, with increases sustained for 14 consecutive years.

China Taiping plans to distribute annual cash dividends for 2025 based on a total share capital of 9.62 billion shares, at RMB 1.15 per share (including tax), totaling RMB 11.063 billion; New China Life states that it plans to distribute a cash dividend for the 2025 final (year-end) period of RMB 2.06 per share (including tax) to all shareholders, totaling RMB 6.426 billion. In 2025, the company plans to distribute cash dividends totaling RMB 8.516 billion, up 7.9% year over year, accounting for approximately 25.1% of the net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the company’s 2025 financial report after deducting non-recurring gains and losses.

In recent earnings meetings hosted by multiple insurers, a signal has been released that “dividends have increased compared with the previous year.” Recently, China Taiping held a 2025 annual performance briefing. At the briefing, Su Shaojun, secretary to the board of directors of China Taiping, said that for dividends for 2025, this board proposes to distribute RMB 1.15 in cash dividends per share, which is higher than the previous year. The dividend level has been further raised, matching the company’s dividend policy.

At the China P&C Insurance 2025 annual performance briefing, Zhao Peng, president of China P&C Insurance, said the company has always attached great importance to shareholder returns, maintaining the continuity and stability of cash dividends. In 2025, the group’s full-year dividend per share was RMB 0.22, up 22.2% year over year; over the past three years, the group’s cash dividend compound annual growth rate has reached 18.8%.

With dividend strength continuing to increase, executives of multiple insurers at earnings meetings also offered reassurance. As Zhao Peng pointed out, “The company will deepen its insurance main business, continuously improve quality and efficiency, strengthen payment management, and enhance performance evaluations. By working in the same direction from both the liability side and the investment side, we will strive to achieve sustained and stable growth in profitability, thereby repaying the trust and support of our broad base of investors.”

The confidence behind the growth: Why do insurers dare to “act generously”?

This dividend totaling over RMB 100 billion did not come out of thin air.

Multiple insurers’ executives at earnings meetings provided clear explanations. On March 27, at the on-site 2025 annual performance briefing of China P&C Insurance, Zhao Peng elaborated on the logic behind the dividends. He said the company’s dividend policy primarily considers the following three factors: first, coordinating and taking into account differences between new and old standards; second, fully considering capital constraints; and third, striving to achieve long-term stable growth in dividends per share.

Wang Zhaojiang, executive director of the research and investment education institute of Shenzhen Beishan Changcheng Fund, analyzed the signals and significance of listed insurers’ continued high dividends in an interview with Beijing Business Daily reporter. He believes that high dividends are based on stable fundamentals of operations, with strong earnings and cash flows. The five insurers’ combined net profit attributable to shareholders for 2025 totaled RMB 425.291 billion; their total dividends exceeded RMB 100 billion; and with two consecutive years of high growth, this confirms high-quality profitability driven by a two-wheel setup: the premium side on the liability side and investment returns on the investment side.

Looking back, in the annual reports of the five listed insurers in the A-share market, the total dividend amount mentioned was RMB 63.825 billion. When added to dividends paid in the earlier interim period, the total dividends of the listed insurers in 2024 were RMB 90.789 billion, up 20.21%.

“An increase in insurers’ dividends also shows that insurers’ policy orientation has been implemented—placing emphasis on long-term stable returns.” Wang Zhaojiang also said that insurers are responding to the new “Nine Articles on State-Owned Enterprises” and the push for “improving quality and efficiency while returning dividends,” shifting from “performance delivery” to continuous, predictable, high-ratio dividends. Ping An has increased dividends for 14 consecutive years, while companies such as China P&C Insurance and New China Life have seen dividends reach historical highs. This also highlights that insurers have sufficient capital strength: their solvency “safety cushions” are solid. Even after large dividend distributions, they can still meet regulatory requirements, reflecting capital redundancy and controllable risk, and providing support for both business expansion and ongoing dividend distribution. In addition, it further proves the investment value of the insurers sector. High dividends and steady growth align with institutional and long-term capital preferences, strengthening the insurers sector’s dual attributes of defense and returns.

Wang Zhaojiang further broke down the core considerations for insurers’ proposed dividend policies. He analyzed that evaluating profitability and cash flows is the main foundation and also a factor that sets the upper limit for dividends. Capital and solvency capacity are the bottom line for dividends. Regulatory and policy direction are also equally important: policies need to comply with new rules to ensure stable and sustained implementation. In addition, companies must also balance their own business development situation and long-term strategy, maintaining the sustainability of long-term benefits.

When discussing the impact of increased dividends, Wang Zhaojiang said that for investors, dividends directly increase cash returns, enhancing the sense of gain from holding shares and willingness for long-term holding. For insurers themselves, high dividends convey confidence in operations, stabilize market expectations, and can help with stock price and market capitalization management. For the industry and the market, it establishes a benchmark for high dividends, can also encourage other financial blue-chip companies to follow suit, improve the overall dividend level of A shares, and at the same time strengthen the label for value investing in the insurance sector, attract incremental capital, and further improve the sector’s liquidity and valuation.

Su Shaojun at the earnings meeting also expressed a similar view. He mentioned that investors can reasonably anticipate potential dividend returns by tracking and assessing insurers’ mid- to long-term development potential. The company’s management team can also focus more on shaping internal growth momentum, consolidating the foundation for shareholder returns through strengthening the capabilities to obtain sustainable business, release profitability, and control risks. At the same time, it should moderately realize the positive contribution of current-period investment performance and share company operations and performance results with investors.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Hu Yongxin