Within the first two months of 2026, China Life Insurance Company Limited (601628.SH), a leading life insurer, has received regulatory penalties in both Henan and Hubei provinces, with total fines exceeding 2 million yuan. On January 30, the Luoyang Supervision Branch of the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued a fine of 900,000 yuan, targeting the Luoyang branch for violations including fabricating intermediary business and deceiving policyholders. The manager of the Yichuan sub-branch received two penalties for repeatedly submitting false reports.
On February 14, the Hubei Supervision Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration followed with enforcement actions, penalizing the Hubei branch 1.17 million yuan for four types of violations, such as preparing false materials and deceiving policyholders. Eleven responsible individuals were also fined, while two sales agents from the Wuhan branch were banned from the insurance industry for life. Despite reporting a 60.5% year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to parent company shareholders for the first three quarters of 2025 and holding total assets exceeding 7.4 trillion yuan, the company's compliance weaknesses at the grassroots level have drawn repeated regulatory scrutiny.
The penalty document disclosed by the Luoyang Supervision Branch on January 30 detailed that China Life’s Luoyang branch was fined for "fabricating insurance intermediary business to obtain fees; failing to use approved or filed insurance clauses and premium rates; deceiving policyholders, insured persons, or beneficiaries; and providing or promising benefits outside the insurance contract." Former deputy general managers of the Luoyang branch, Guo Ji, Zhang Chungen, and Yang Aoshuang, were warned and fined between 50,000 and 110,000 yuan. An individual agent from the Yanshi sub-branch was also fined 10,000 yuan for deceiving a policyholder.
On February 14, the Hubei Supervision Bureau announced that China Life’s Hubei branch was penalized for four major violations: "preparing false materials, using insurance business activities to seek improper benefits for other individuals, providing policyholders with benefits outside the contract, and deceiving policyholders." Eleven individuals, including Zhang Wei, Zhang Hui, Huang Huan, He Wei, Hu Yu, Qi Qianling, Qin Hong, Zhou Feng, Yin Cong, Liu Ying, and Feng Yu, were warned and collectively fined 390,000 yuan.
In the same batch of penalties, China Life’s Wuhan branch was warned and fined 10,000 yuan for "inadequate management of personal insurance agents and deceiving policyholders." Responsible individual Ding Xin was warned and fined 10,000 yuan, while agents Zhu Bobo and Chen Zongchen were banned from the insurance industry for life due to serious violations.
A review of the penalties reveals strikingly similar issues. Violations such as "preparing false materials" and "fabricating intermediary business to obtain fees" point to inaccurate financial and business data, reflecting long-standing regulatory concerns over fraudulent practices. Meanwhile, "deceiving policyholders" and "providing extra-contractual benefits" are typical consumer rights violations. The penalties affected not only provincial and municipal branches but also extended to sub-branch managers and frontline agents.
It is noteworthy that China Life’s third-quarter report for 2025 depicted robust growth. By the end of September 2025, the company reported a net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 167.804 billion yuan, a sharp increase of 60.5% year-on-year. Total investment income reached 368.551 billion yuan, up 41.0%, with the total investment yield rising to 6.42%. Total premium income grew 10.1% to 669.645 billion yuan, and the total sales force stood at 657,000, including 607,000 individual agents, maintaining its industry leadership. The company attributed its performance to "deepening asset-liability coordination" and "increasing equity investments by seizing market opportunities."
However, the impressive financial figures contrast sharply with compliance failures at the grassroots level. As an industry leader with a sales force of 657,000, the lifetime bans of two agents from the Wuhan branch highlight potential shortcomings in agent quality and management. The repeated penalties against the Yichuan sub-branch manager for submitting false reports also suggest that some local offices may prioritize data manipulation over compliance amid internal performance pressures.
From a broader industry perspective, the recent密集 penalties by the National Financial Regulatory Administration and its local offices signal that insurance supervision has entered a phase of refined,常态化, and high-pressure regulation. In recent years, the regulator has intensified efforts to curb market misconduct, maintaining a tough stance on practices that harm consumer rights or disrupt market order. The successive penalties in Hubei and Henan serve as another wake-up call. Although the fines are modest relative to the company's scale, the exposed governance and internal control weaknesses could undermine long-established brand reputation and consumer trust. In response to intensified regulatory scrutiny, China Life must demonstrate through concrete actions that its commitment to "preventing and resolving risks" goes beyond paper promises.