As China's first internet insurance company, ZhongAn Insurance was included in the Hang Seng Tech Index at its inaugural launch in 2020, bearing the label of "Technology + Insurance." However, in February this year, Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited announced the quarterly review results of its Hang Seng Index Series as of December 31, 2024. In this adjustment, ZhongAn Insurance was removed, leading the market to reassess its technological credentials and growth potential.

ZhongAn Insurance operates with "Insurance + Technology" as its dual engines, focusing on applying new technologies to reshape the insurance value chain. According to its 2024 financial report, gross written premiums reached RMB 33.417 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%; insurance service revenue was RMB 31.744 billion, up 15.3% year-on-year. However, net profit was RMB 603 million, a significant decrease of 85.20% year-on-year. The combined ratio rose from 94.2% in 2022 to 96.9%, and the comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio dropped from 299% in 2022 to 227%.

Regarding technology investment, a clear downward trend is evident. R&D expenditure in 2024 decreased to RMB 846 million (2023: RMB 1.192 billion). By the end of 2024, the number of engineers and technicians totaled 1,077 (end of 2023: 1,212), representing an 11% reduction in team size, accounting for nearly half of the overall staff decrease. Although benefiting from the ongoing digital transformation in the domestic and overseas financial industries, the technology segment achieved total technology output revenue of RMB 956 million in 2024, a 15.3% increase year-on-year, its net profit was only RMB 77.61 million, remaining a relatively low proportion.

In terms of ESG performance, external evaluations consistently place it at a medium level. According to the ESG rating results released by Hang Seng Indexes, ZhongAn Insurance maintained a BBB rating, ranking in the bottom 20% among 59 companies in the financial industry. Among seven core issues, its performance in "Consumer Issues," "Labor Practices," and "Community Involvement and Development" all fell within the bottom 10% of the industry. MSCI also rates ZhongAn Insurance BBB, notably lower than Ping An Insurance (AAA), China Pacific Insurance (AAA), The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (AA), and China Property & Casualty Insurance (AA).

Examining the ZhongAn Insurance 2024 ESG Report, it was prepared following the GRI Standards and the HKEX's ESG Reporting Guide, while also referencing rating requirements like the SDGs and MSCI ESG Ratings. The disclosure framework is complete, demonstrating high compliance. The company identified 16 material topics, including 8 deemed "Highly Important": Customer Rights Protection, Product and Service Innovation, Privacy and Data Security, Business Ethics, Employee Rights and Care, Talent Development and Training, Risk Management, and Corporate Governance. ZhongAn Insurance also officially signed the UN Environment Programme's Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) in February 2025, committing to and implementing PSI's four principles. However, the report still shows deficiencies in quantifying ESG strategic goals and disclosing trends, lacking forward-looking planning for key indicators.

At the governance level, although the report emphasizes "strengthening compliance and internal control, improving risk management, and adhering to business ethics," real-world governance issues remain prominent. ZhongAn Insurance has faced multiple penalties from regulatory authorities in recent years. In 2024, it was fined RMB 1.8 million by the National Financial Regulatory Administration for concealing related parties and transactions, falsely recording expenses through related parties, and misreporting/omissions in statements submitted via the related transaction regulatory system. Three relevant responsible persons were also warned and fined.

Furthermore, Baibaojun, a platform incubated by ZhongAn Insurance's wholly-owned subsidiary ZhongAn Technology, recently experienced a redemption crisis, involving an estimated amount exceeding RMB 100 million and affecting nearly 9,000 consumers. Facing queries, ZhongAn Insurance stated that Li Xuefeng is the legal representative and actual controller of Baibao Company. ZhongAn Technology invested based on intangible asset valuation but did not participate in actual operations and management. Baibao Company ceased providing operational updates from 2023. ZhongAn Technology decided to exit Baibao Company in 2024 and signed a share transfer agreement with other shareholders of Baibao Company in May 2025, transferring all its shares. However, the industrial and commercial registration change is pending. Public information still shows ZhongAn Technology as the largest shareholder, raising external doubts about its governance responsibility and investment management.

Regarding information security, although the company passed multiple audits and ISO27001 surveillance audits, several of its applications (ZhongAn Insurance Service, ZhongAn Claims, ZhongAn Health, ZhongAn Health Manager, ZhongAn Insurance Worry-Free Claims, ZhongAn Welfare Club) were recently cited and notified by the Shanghai Communications Administration for "failing to specify rules for personal information processing."

On the social dimension, the report provides relatively comprehensive disclosure, highlighting areas like "Consumer Rights Protection," "Inclusive Finance," and "Product and Service Innovation." For example: customer satisfaction reached 98.27%, customer complaint resolution rate hit 100%, the 2024 regulatory evaluation for consumer rights protection was Level 2-C; health insurance services covered over 130 million users; established AI quality inspection covering 100% of the entire process and total volume; underwriting automation rate increased to 99%.

The report discloses that in 2024, the company added the ZhongAn Insurance Online Live Streaming and Information Flow Advertising Marketing Compliance Management Measures and revised regulations like the ZhongAn Insurance Intermediary Channel Business Management Measures and the ZhongAn Insurance Data Classification and Grading Management Regulations, totaling over 10 newly added or revised systems, continuously improving the consumer rights protection framework. However, numerous online complaints regarding "low first-month premiums followed by renewal price hikes," "automatic renewal deductions," and "opaque rules" persist. The Hei Mao Complaint platform shows that as of December 6, complaints containing the search term "ZhongAn Insurance" reached 579 in the past 30 days, accumulating to 14,799 total. These involve "bundled sales," "unauthorized automatic renewal fees," "misleading advertising," and "claims disputes," which starkly contrasts with its reported philosophy of "providing insurance with warmth."

The ESG report itself also discloses that in 2024, according to the National Financial Regulatory Administration's complaint reporting caliber, ZhongAn Insurance received 647 regulator-notified complaints. The complaint ratio per RMB 100 million in premiums was 1.94, and per 10,000 policies was 0.0003. Among the 2024 regulator-forwarded complaints, by product type, short-term health insurance, guarantee insurance, and personal accident insurance accounted for around 80% of all complaints, at 54.9%, 17.8%, and 7.7% respectively. By issue type, claims disputes were predominant, with claims-related complaints constituting 63.2% of all complaints. Geographically, complaints from the top ten regions accounted for about 60% of the total: Jiangsu (12.2%), Shandong (7.6%), Shanghai (7.4%), Guangdong (7.3%), Zhejiang (6.3%), Hunan (6.2%), Sichuan (5.7%), Jiangxi (5.1%), Hubei (3.6%), and Liaoning (3.2%). In 2024, ZhongAn Insurance received a total of 81,200 full-caliber complaints (after deduplication).

Relatively speaking, the environmental narrative is somewhat muted. In 2024, the company conducted a carbon inventory covering all listed entities within the group. Total greenhouse gas emissions reached 4,773.31 tons of CO2 equivalent, and greenhouse gas emission density was 1.99 tons of CO2 equivalent per person, both showing an increase. Additionally, it launched 26 green insurance clauses, underwriting over 8.51 million green insurance policies. Total premium for new energy vehicle insurance grew by approximately 188.4% year-on-year.

In summary, while ZhongAn Insurance's ESG report demonstrates standardized disclosure, issues such as regulatory penalties, weakening technological attributes, high consumer complaints, and profit volatility continue to surface. The long-term stagnation of its external ESG rating in the medium range also reflects that beyond compliant disclosure, the quality of its sustainable operations still requires significant improvement.

Author：Qinger