Insurance premiums paid in China rose 10 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to 327.67 billion yuan (US$47.96 billion), the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

Property insurance premiums reached 71.86 billion yuan, a rise of 12 percent, while life insurance premiums climbed 9.4 percent to 255.8 billion yuan. Insurers' total assets reached 3.5 trillion yuan by March 31, an increase of 6 percent from the end of last year.

(Shanghai Daily April 22, 2009)