Cigna & CMC Reaches a Milestone of One Million Policies Sold in China 

(MENAFN Press) SHENZHEN, China & BLOOMFIELD, Conn - Monday, December 3rd 2012

Cigna & CMC Life Insurance Co., Ltd. ("Cigna & CMC"), a joint venture company between Cigna and a China Merchants Group affiliate, announced today that the company has sold its one millionth policy in force in China. Cigna & CMC has been growing rapidly in the Chinese health and life insurance market since it was established nearly 10 years ago.

Mr. Ma Weihua, chairman of Cigna & CMC said: "This is a key historical milestone in Cigna & CMC's successful growth story. The achievement reflects the collective focus and commitment of the joint venture team. It also illustrates the power of Cigna & CMC's shared values and vision enabling the company to leverage resources to drive these results. This milestone will inspire Cigna & CMC to achieve even greater success in the next decade and beyond."

As one of the most successful life insurance joint ventures in China, Cigna & CMC leverages Cigna's more than 220 years' experience, distribution expertise, and deep knowledge of insurance services. That foundation, coupled with CMC's vast retail experience, powerful brand, and strong customer understanding, provides the power behind the JV company's ability to succeed through its use of analytics and insights on consumer needs in China.

Cigna & CMC has developed a unique business model by embracing a shared vision and set of values for the company and leveraging resources and scale to solidify the reputation of an innovative and trusted brand in the industry. In just under a decade, the company has grown into an impressive insurance operation with licenses to operate in nine provinces across China, approximately 4,000 staff and 1 million in-force policies. In fact, the JV company also won the honor of being named China's Best Foreign Life Insurance Company and ranks #1 in terms of comprehensive competitive capabilities among life insurance joint ventures in China.

The JV company operates three lines of business in China:

offering supplemental health, life and accident (HL&A) products that are distributed through direct marketing channels including internet, telemarketing, bancassurance and affinity partner distribution and China Merchants Bank's established branch network,
selling and servicing the needs of globally mobile employees through Cigna's expat business unit, Global Health Benefits, and
recently launching its global and local individual private medical insurance (IPMI) product suite targeting globally mobile High Net Worth individuals either based out of or working in China

"We are extremely pleased with this remarkable achievement in the China market," said Mr. David Cordani, president and CEO of Cigna, "As a leading global health service provider, we will continue to bring our product and distribution expertise to this critically important joint venture. Cigna & CMC will continue to see strong growth in the next decade, given China's growing demand for health insurance and our unique solutions to help fill the diverse set of customers' needs."

Cigna & CMC has maintained its rapid growth in 2012 despite a relative slowdown in China's fast-growing economy. In fact, Cigna & CMC recorded USD 238 million in premiums and fees year-to-date through 9/30/2012, a 35% increase over the prior year. The company attributes the growth to its customer-centric products and services, as well as its innovative, diversified marketing strategies.

"With China's growing middle class, aging population and expanding urbanization, there will be tremendous opportunities for the insurance sector to help meet China's health and protection needs," said Mr. Fernando Moreira, general manager and CEO of Cigna & CMC. "We will stay focused on the customer and leverage the advanced resources of both companies to provide comprehensive, improved health insurance services for the local market."

Founded in 2003, Cigna & CMC has expanded into Beijing, Shanghai, as well as provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hubei, Shandong and Liaoning.