A recent survey shows the China Insurance Consumer Confidence Index (CICCI) rises up by 0.4 points from the 2020 figure to 70.7, staying in the strong confidence interval of (65, 85]. By sector, the CICCI for life insurance and property insurance is 69.8 and 71.5, respectively.

The index comprises three primary indicators—confidence in macro environment, confidence in insurance industry, and confidence in individual consumption. They move in different directions from the 2020 levels. The first climbs 1.5 points to 73.9, the second drops by 0.3 points to 70.5, and the third gains 0.9 points to 69.6.

Further, the three primary indicators have six secondary indicators in total, all of which fall in the strong confidence interval. For the first primary indicator, confidence in macro environment climbs 1.5 points to 73.9. For the second, confidence in insurance development and confidence in perceived policies slip by 2.8 points and 0.1 points to 70.8 and 72.0, respectively, while insurance service satisfaction increases by 1.4 points to 69.8. For the third, consumer trust preference and consumption willingness rise 0.4 points and 1.2 points to 72.1 and 67.9, respectively. Overall, four of the six secondary indicators score above 70.

CICCI in Q1 2021 has the following characteristics:

First, CICCI has stayed in the strong confidence interval and hit above 70 for 5 consecutive years. This means most insurance consumers have long been confident about China’s macroeconomy, the growth prospect of the industry, and their own spending power.

Second, consumers’ confidence in macro environment continues the upward trend since 2020 and reaches a new high, even higher than the confidence in insurance industry and in individual consumption. The record score reflects growing confidence in China’s macroeconomy since the beginning of this year.

Third, consumers’ satisfaction in insurance services bottoms out. In Q1 2021, the primary indicator, consumers’ confidence in insurance industry, dips lower from 2020. Among its secondary indicators, confidence in both insurance development and perceived policies declines, while insurance service satisfaction moves up, yet all belong to the strong confidence interval. Some consumers may feel less optimistic about the current and future development of the industry, but the number of consumers experiencing better services exceeds that in 2020. The satisfaction score reverses the declining trend since 2018 and starts to pick up.

Lastly, consumers have more confidence in individual consumption, primarily driven by improved trust from the last year. Consumption willingness, including the willingness to extend, renew, and recommend insurance, also increases from 2020. Particularly, the willingness to renew and extend insurance has grown for two consecutive periods, and the willingness to recommend stabilizes and rebounds after a decline in 2020.