Less than 500,000 to over 5 million: The income gap between insurance company executives and directors exceeds 10 times

The legend of the “ten million annual salary” is fading, revealing a stark reality. According to incomplete statistics from Beijing Business Daily, as of February 23, a total of 113 insurance companies disclosed their senior management compensation in their Q4 2025 solvency reports. Despite an overall positive performance trend, the salaries of senior executives in insurance companies have not risen as dramatically as expected. Data shows that the number of companies with annual salaries exceeding 5 million yuan decreased from five in 2024 to four in 2025. There are significant disparities in senior management pay across different insurers, with the highest annual salary surpassing 5 million yuan and the lowest less than 500,000 yuan, a gap of over 10 times. The once-hot “ten million annual salary” is now hard to find.

Data released by the Financial Regulatory Administration before the holiday shows that in 2025, insurance companies’ gross premium income reached 6.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%. The number of new policies issued was 116.8 billion, up 12.6% year-on-year. Additionally, benefiting from policies like “reporting and operating as one” and a favorable capital market, the industry’s operational performance has been notable. Among non-listed insurers that have published data, about 90% are profitable.

However, despite the overall positive performance, the compensation of senior management in insurance companies has continued a decline trend over the past two years. According to Beijing Business Daily, in 2023, ten insurers had senior executives with annual salaries over 5 million yuan; by 2024, this number dropped to five, and in 2025, it further decreased to four, including China United Tai Metropolitan Life, Zhonghong Life, and China Pacific Insurance. Most other insurers’ senior management salaries range from 1 million to 5 million yuan, though some have salaries below 500,000 yuan.

Looking back further, the “ten million annual salary” was once a hot topic in the industry. In 2022, a director at United Life Insurance earned a pre-tax salary of 9.5385 million yuan, nearly reaching the 10 million mark. Beijing Business Daily’s analysis found that senior management compensation does not have a clear correlation with company profitability. Many insurers do not have performance-based reward plans, and some profitable insurers offer high salaries despite not being among the largest in premium or scale.

So, what factors specifically influence senior management compensation in insurance companies? Industry insiders told Beijing Business Daily that when determining senior management pay, companies consider performance within their responsibilities, contributions to the company, and personal capabilities. Some companies’ compensation systems may be influenced by historical factors, exhibiting inertia; even if company performance changes, their pay structures may be slow to adjust.

From a policy perspective, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice in 2022 titled “Notice on Further Strengthening Financial Management of State-Owned Financial Enterprises,” which emphasizes that financial institutions should reasonably control pay disparities across positions, motivate frontline and grassroots employees, and effectively balance income distribution among leadership, middle management, and staff. This has strengthened regulation over senior management compensation in the financial industry.

Although the compensation of senior management in non-listed insurers is not strongly correlated with the company’s profitability or premium scale, some patterns are evident. Specifically, first, senior management in life insurance companies generally earn more than those in property insurance companies. Second, joint ventures and foreign-funded insurers tend to offer higher pay. Among the insurers with senior management salaries exceeding 5 million yuan, three are life insurers and one is a property insurer, most of which are foreign or joint ventures. Additionally, some property insurers with “internet” or “tech” DNA, such as JD Allianz Property & Casualty and Hyundai Insurance, also pay slightly higher salaries to senior executives compared to industry peers, partly due to their “joint venture” background.

Wang Peng, deputy researcher at Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, stated that life insurance products have longer life cycles, more complex business models, and higher requirements for actuarial skills and asset-liability matching. This creates a greater reliance on top-tier, versatile talent and a higher premium for such talent compared to property insurers, which mainly focus on standardized, short-term insurance. Joint ventures and foreign-funded insurers often adopt global compensation standards, offering high cash bonuses and benefits to attract internationally-minded senior executives, with less domestic salary regulation constraints. Insurers with internet DNA need to compete for cross-sector talent with tech giants, and their compensation structures include “talent premiums” to counter industry risks.

Beijing Business Daily reporter: Li Xiumei

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Insurance companies