GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 1 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq: CISG), a leading independent insurance agency and brokerage company operating in China, announced that twelve of its affiliated insurance intermediary companies, including eight insurance agencies, one insurance brokerage and three insurance claims adjusters, were among China's top 20 in their respective categories, according to the Insurance Intermediary Market Development Report -- 1st Half 2008 published by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on July 30, 2008.
According to the report, eight of CNinsure's 28 affiliated insurance agencies ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 6, No. 8, No. 14, No. 18, No. 19, and No. 20, respectively, among China's top 20 insurance agencies in terms of revenues, with a combined market share of 13.03% in the first half of 2008, as compared with only 4 of its insurance agencies among the top 20 with 4.87% combined market share in the first half of 2007, and 7 among the top 20 with 11.26% combined market share in the first quarter of 2008. One of CNinsure's five affiliated insurance brokerages ranked No. 17 among China's top 20 insurance brokerages by revenue, with an approximately 1.34% market share for the same period. Noticeably, three insurance claims adjusters, which were recently acquired by CNinsure, ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, with a combined market share of 10.72% in the first half of 2008, as compared with their respective rankings of No. 4, No. 5 and No. 8, together accounting for 9.99% of the total revenue of all insurance claims adjusters, in the first quarter of 2008.
The report found that as of June 30, 2008, there were a total of 2,381 professional insurance intermediary companies operating in China, including 1,781 insurance agencies, 333 insurance brokerages and 267 insurance claims adjusters. The written premiums generated through independent insurance intermediaries were RMB21.68 billion, representing an increase of 39.58% over the same period of last year and accounting for 3.86% of the total written premiums generated.
Commenting on this progress, CNinsure's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yinan Hu, said, "We are pleased that despite the impact of the Sichuan earthquake in May on some of our operations, our affiliated insurance intermediaries as a whole continued to deliver strong performance, further enhancing our status as a leading insurance intermediary in China. This reflects the vitality of China's overall insurance industry, as well as the joint efforts of our sales agents and management in executing our growth strategies."
About CNinsure Inc.
CNinsure is a leading independent insurance agency and brokerage company operating in China. CNinsure's distribution network reaches many of China's most economically developed regions and affluent cities. The Company distributes a wide variety of property and casualty and life insurance products underwritten by domestic and foreign insurance companies operating in China, and provides insurance claims adjusting as well as other insurance-related services.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these
forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the management's quotations contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about CNinsure and the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to CNinsure's limited operating history, especially its limited experience in selling life insurance products, its ability to attract and retain productive agents, especially entrepreneurial agents, its ability to maintain existing and develop new business relationships with insurance companies, its ability to execute its growth strategy, its ability to adapt to the evolving regulatory environment in Chinese insurance industry, and its ability to compete effectively against its competitors. All information provided in this press release is as of August 1st, 2008, and CNinsure undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although CNinsure believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by CNinsure is included in CNinsure's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F.
For more information, please contact:
Phoebe Meng
Investor Relations Officer
Tel: +86-20-6122-2777
Email: mengyf@cninsure.net
Oasis Qiu
Investor Relations
Tel: +86-20-6122-2777 x850
Email: qiusr@cninsure.net