Analysts at Moody’s Ratings said that a protracted downturn in China’s property market could hurt the profitability of local insurers, who are exposed to the sector through commercial real estate, South China Morning Post reported. Moody’s said that while the size of the insurers’ property investments is generally moderate relative to their asset bases, some insurers have exposures in excess of 15% of shareholders’ equity. The analysts expect the impact of losses from property investments on some Chinese insurers’ profitability and capital to be material.
