13个精算师·2025-07-03 09:43Core Viewpoint - The analysis of new business acquisition cost rates in the life insurance sector indicates that a higher acquisition cost does not necessarily correlate with lower profitability for new business, challenging conventional wisdom in the industry [1][6][24]. Group 1: New Business Acquisition Cost Rate - The formula for calculating the new business acquisition cost rate is defined as the cash flow from acquiring insurance contracts divided by the present value of future cash inflows from those contracts [1][11]. - In 2024, the aggregated new business acquisition cost rate for 12 life insurance companies was 8.4%, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points year-on-year [17]. - The new business profit margin for the same group of companies was 8.7%, reflecting a year-on-year decline of 0.4 percentage points [19]. Group 2: Performance of Individual Companies - Among the 12 companies, Ping An Life had the highest new business acquisition cost rate at 11.9%, followed by Taiping Life at 9.6% [19]. - The analysis revealed that loss-making contracts had a new business acquisition cost rate of 5.7%, while non-loss-making contracts had a rate of 8.7%, suggesting that higher quality, potentially profitable business requires greater investment in acquisition [19][22]. - Companies primarily using the bancassurance channel, such as Zhong Postal Life and Sunshine Life, experienced a 2.5 percentage point decrease in their new business acquisition cost rates due to the "reporting and operation integration" effect [21][22]. Group 3: Insights on Cost and Profitability Relationship - The relationship between new business acquisition cost rates and profit margins is complex; higher acquisition costs do not equate to lower profit margins, which contradicts common assumptions [6][24]. - The analysis indicates that companies with higher acquisition costs often achieve higher profit margins, likely due to their investment in acquiring higher quality business [7][26]. - The findings suggest that the main distribution channels for leading companies remain focused on individual agents, which influences their cost structures and profitability [4][26].