Special: Golden Pixiu · 2026 7th Bank-Insurance Cooperation and Development Forum
Original Title: Jiao Feng, Chief Actuary and Head of Finance at China Postal Life Insurance Co., Ltd.: "Integration of Reporting and Pricing" Reshapes Bancassurance Business Logic; Professional Expertise and Expansion into Pension & Health Care Drive New Growth
In a low-interest-rate environment, with the implementation of new accounting standards and the enforcement of "Document No. 65", bancassurance collaboration is shifting from fee-based competition to a contest of products, services, and professional expertise.
On 2026年9月22日, the 7th Bank-Insurance Cooperation and Development Forum of "Golden Pixiu" · 2026, along with the award ceremony for bank-insurance series awards, was held in Beijing. Hosted by Yiqu Finance Media and "Insurance Enterprise High Reference", this year's forum centered on the theme "Offensive and Defensive Strategies: Harmonizing Light and Dust". Senior leaders from regulatory bodies, banking, and insurance sectors engaged in insightful discussions on the development of bank-insurance cooperation following "Document No. 65".
Jiao Feng, Chief Actuary and Head of Finance at China Post Life Insurance Co., Ltd., shared insights on the interpretation and industry impact of "Document No. 65", along with practical perspectives on growing pension and health services and maintaining long-term stable operations.
Jiao Feng believes that only when customers, banks, and insurance companies resonate can bancassurance achieve stable and long-term growth. Focusing on the understanding of "Document 65" and its industry impact, growth in pension and health services, product diversification, and sustainable long-term operations, Jiao Feng shared China Post Life's practices and insights.
"Document No. 65" Refines the "Unified Reporting and Execution" Requirement
Professional Support and Service-Driven Transition for Bancassurance Operations
"Reporting and Execution Integration" was first implemented in the auto insurance sector, then expanded to life insurance channels. Product filing management for individual sales channels requires detailed reporting of various expenses. According to Jiao Feng, "Document No. 65" represents a further deepening and refinement of "Reporting and Execution Integration" in bancassurance channels. The key objective is to standardize business models so that resource allocation better aligns with industry norms.
Jiao Feng pointed out that Document No. 65 clarified the fundamental logic of bancassurance business models, establishing key stages: front-end bank agency sales, mid-end insurer team support and marketing/training campaigns, and back-end operational services along with fixed management costs. This has created a relatively unified business model and terminology for bancassurance, providing a common institutional reference for refined management.
At the industry execution level, Jiao Feng believes that all parties have reached a consensus on implementing regulations from the perspective of industry self-discipline. This has established a sales model primarily driven by bank-side sales, with insurance companies providing auxiliary support. Cost allocation fully accounts for the primary and secondary roles within this organizational structure. The "reporting-consistent-with-execution" requirement ensures alignment between reported data and actual operations, while also driving resource allocation back in line with industry norms.
Once the relative positioning of all stakeholders is clearly defined, the direction of operational reform shifts from being marketing expense-driven to professional support and service-driven. Jiao Feng admitted that the industry's premium scale has actually entered an adjustment and adaptation phase. This round of policy transition involves adjustments to expense policies and changes in dividend demonstration levels. Data from industry exchanges cited by Jiao Feng shows that bank insurance business growth was strong in the first quarter, leveled off by mid-year, and declined year-over-year in 7 and 8, resulting in a cumulative growth rate negative by more than ten percentage points. The adjustments cover product development and pricing, team building, marketing and promotion management, business training, and customer service.
The adjusted strategy focuses on the synergy between efficiency gains and capacity release, reducing inefficient investments and optimizing cost structures. Cost changes are then reflected in product pricing through pricing parameters, enhancing the relative competitiveness of insurance products within customers' asset portfolios. According to Jiao Feng, the adjustment places greater emphasis on bridging banks and insurance companies, with clearer role definitions for bancassurance specialists. Compensation incentives have shifted from being directly tied to premium volume to relying more on policy interpretation, problem resolution, activity support, and professional services. Bancassurance partnerships are evolving from simple product distribution to full-cycle customer engagement. Bancassurance specialists now need expertise in customer segmentation, asset allocation, and retirement planning. Jiao Feng noted that China Postal Life Insurance has already built a team of over 4000 planners to provide professional support for bank wealth advisors.
Address the elderly care and health needs of the "15th Five-Year Plan"
Cultivate growth with functional products and wellness services
Population aging is accelerating, and demand for elderly care and health services will continue to grow during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. At a press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office on the "15th Five-Year Plan," the Deputy Governor of the National Financial Regulatory Administration stated that the next step is to vigorously develop commercial pension insurance and encourage improvements in quality and expansion of health insurance coverage. Jiao Feng believes that policy direction is now clear, marking a new phase for bank-insurance development.
Bank channels offer a vast customer base and strong reach, enabling the conversion of residents' pension and health insurance needs into actual coverage. According to Jiao Feng, in the realm of pension finance, insurance providers should leverage their expertise in managing longevity risk and planning long-term cash flows, extending from wealth management to retirement protection. Compared with bank offerings such as savings, funds, and wealth management products for retirement, life annuity insurance provides lifetime payouts that align payments with the insured's lifespan—paying out until death. It also supports flexible premium payment options and customizable benefit plans, allowing retirees to tailor their arrangements to individual needs. Jiao Feng emphasized that the competitive edge of pension insurance lies in its alignment of payouts with longevity and its flexible distribution options. These product values must be clearly communicated to the market.
According to Jiao Feng, China Postal Life Insurance has established functional product lines. These products are not based on traditional metrics like cash value or payback periods. The company has rebuilt its evaluation framework, focusing not just on the number of years for payback or 10-year returns, but also on coverage scope, leverage ratio, pension supplementation after retirement, and guaranteed payout periods. This approach ensures certainty in cash flow despite uncertain life expectancy while enhancing annuity payout amounts without compromising liquidity. This business segment is growing rapidly this year, accounting for over 10% of long-term regular premium business, with a scale exceeding 20 billion yuan in 2026.
In terms of wellness services, insurance companies leverage their comprehensive capabilities in resource integration and service system operations to enhance customer loyalty and strengthen product competitiveness. China Post Life Insurance has developed the "YOU Enjoy Your Years" wellness service system, covering health management, institutional elderly care, home-based elderly care, and travel-oriented retirement living.
Drive product diversification through sales suitability
Enhance business evaluation with a long-term perspective.
In a low-interest-rate environment, controlling liability costs and matching asset durations have become key industry challenges. 2026 marked the first year of implementing new accounting standards for life insurance. Recent regulatory updates on asset-liability management now incorporate more granular considerations of maturity structure, cost-return profiles, and liquidity, bringing greater attention to the product features of participating policies.
Jiao Feng believes that the transformation of participating insurance has moved from a trend to reality, with listed companies significantly increasing their proportion of bank-insurance participating insurance in the first half of 2026. This transformation reflects a shared choice between customer value and the company's stable operations. In terms of product returns, in a low-interest-rate environment, participating insurance is likely to outperform traditional insurance over the next few years. Under new accounting standards, participating insurance demonstrates stronger financial resilience under the floating fee method, better leveraging the long-term investment advantages of insurance capital. Aligning with recent asset-liability regulations, the cash flows of participating insurance can offset the impact of interest rate fluctuations, resulting in a shorter effective duration that helps narrow the asset-liability gap. With lower guaranteed costs, it improves coverage of return on equity. Additionally, surrender risk is lower when interest rates rise. The solvency reform also recognizes these characteristics of participating insurance more positively.
Jiao Feng noted that the transformation of China Post Insurance's participating insurance products has advanced a significant step each year. In 2024, participating insurance accounted for over 40% of the company's long-term business; by 2025, it exceeded half; and in 2026, the share of long-term participating insurance reached over 60%. With more refined asset-liability matching, returns, dividend reserves, and service margins for participating insurance have grown rapidly, creating greater space for sustainable operations and investment allocation.
Product diversification is also evident. According to Jiao Feng, traditional increasing whole life insurance previously dominated the bancassurance market. Today, participating and non-participating policies each leverage their strengths, while increasing whole life insurance and commercial pension annuities share the market equally, meeting the needs of customers with different risk preferences. Regulatory guidance and industry efforts to enhance sales suitability have better aligned product features with customer needs.
From the perspective of long-term, stable operations, Jiao Feng recommends that the industry focus on the relationship between IUL product returns and service ecosystems, as well as workforce sustainability. Following the implementation of Document No. 65, the industry has improved customer returns through cost reduction; this process requires attention to the alignment among product returns, team development, marketing investment, and customer rights services. Jiao Feng emphasized that insurance is sold, so the importance of sales and service cannot be overlooked. Relying solely on value or returns while neglecting partnership consolidation, weakening professional empowerment, and underestimating customer management makes sustainability difficult. Jiao Feng frankly noted that recent intensification in product returns has been severe, making sustainability challenging.
Jiao Feng also recommended monitoring the trend toward shorter premium payment periods for bank insurance products. In the context of funds shifting from deposits to insurance, policyholders increasingly prefer shorter payment terms or faster return cycles. Following rate cuts, the rationale for locking in future premium returns over long durations has weakened; consequently, single-premium and 3-year payment plans have gained share in bank insurance's long-term business in recent years. Jiao pointed out that under new asset-liability regulations, longer payment periods effectively extend duration on the asset side, enhancing asset-liability matching. During interest rate volatility, installment premiums allow investment allocation to be spread across various points in the rate cycle, mitigating interest rate risk and smoothing fluctuations over time from an investment perspective. Delaying the return period appropriately also helps leverage the long-term advantages of insurance capital. Jiao suggested that the industry strengthen guidance and support for long-term payment products through basic law assessments and capital allocation frameworks.
The industry needs a more long-term evaluation framework. Following the implementation of new accounting standards, annual reports from listed companies show increased volatility in industry profits and net assets. The complexity of these rules makes certain operational outcomes difficult for external observers to perceive, creating potential timing gaps between economic value creation and financial reporting results. Jiao Feng noted that when insurers invest in tech stocks and realize high returns, if those gains are allocated to participating insurance accounts, current accounting rules would largely direct them to Contractual Service Margins and Dividend Stabilization Reserves, obscuring the impact on reported profits and net assets. Similarly, under "reporting and execution alignment" policies that enforce strict cost controls, any expense savings may not immediately reflect in current-period financial results. Jiao argues that the complexity of new accounting standards complicates external assessments of industry players. A long-term evaluation system is needed to better capture the nature of life insurance operations. Metrics should filter out short-term volatility while accounting for actual risk exposure; high-risk strategies yielding high returns must be assessed differently than low-risk strategies delivering moderate returns. Relying solely on single-metric rankings increasingly fails to accurately measure the comprehensive operational capability and performance of life insurers.
Advancing quality improvement and upgrades in bancassurance requires continuous investment in professional capabilities by both insurance companies and banks, along with deepening strategic collaboration. According to Jiao Feng, the national strategy for building a financial powerhouse provides clear direction: improve marketing models, enhance professional empowerment, solidify the foundation of cooperation, prioritize suitability of sales, drive product diversification and functional transformation, seize the historical opportunity in pension and health services, and achieve high-quality development while serving the broader picture.
Source: Insurance Experts
