(Yicai) July 14 -- PICC Life Insurance is selling its entire stake in China-US Insurance Advisory for just CNY1 (US 14 cents), underscoring how sharply insurance intermediary license values have fallen amid an industry-wide shake-up.

The buyer of the insurance sales intermediary, which was established as a joint venture between PICC Life Insurance and American International Group, will assume about CNY10 million (USD1.4 million) in liabilities, but the deal is still far below the CNY20 million to CNY40 million that nationwide insurance brokerage and insurance sales licenses once commanded after a buying frenzy fueled by tight regulatory approval between 2017 and 2021.

Some companies were able to profit through commission rebates and improper fee extraction from insurance company channels during that period, driving industrial firms, property developers, and internet companies to invest heavily in insurance intermediary licenses.

The market has cooled sharply over the past two years. Many insurance intermediary equity stakes listed on auction platforms have seen their asking prices tumble, with numerous auctions repeatedly failing to attract buyers. In March, the 100 percent stake in Kaxing Tianxia Insurance Brokerage was sold for just CNY71,000 (USD10,470) after its 10th auction.

Regulatory Crackdown Reshapes the Market

The decline reflects stricter regulatory oversight, which has sharply increased compliance costs while reducing the scarcity of intermediary licenses as more become available for transfer. Chinese regulators have continued their campaign to standardize the sector, shutting nearly 4,000 insurance intermediary branches between 2024 and 2025 alone.

"These developments do not mean the overall value of insurance intermediaries has collapsed. Rather, they reflect a reshuffle following the bursting of the license bubble," Long Ge, deputy director of the Innovation and Risk Management Center at the University of International Business and Economics, told Yicai.

Driven by regulatory reforms and advances in artificial intelligence, the insurance intermediary industry is shifting from "channel arbitrage" to professional services, with leading firms possessing high-quality customer assets continuing to attract market interest, said Long, who is also co-founder and general manager of the mutual aid platform Zhongtuobang.

Insurance intermediaries are also shifting their focus from simply selling insurance policies to providing lifelong customer management, concentrating on sophisticated family risk management needs that cannot easily be met through internet platforms or traditional distribution channels, he added.

Editor: Emmi Laine