Hong Kong-Listed Chinese, International Insurers See Limited Impact From Japan Quake

Major Chinese and international insurers listed in Hong Kong see a minimal financial impact on their operations from the destructive earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan on Friday, as most have very limited operations and investments there.

The two biggest Chinese life insurers by premiums--China Life Insurance Co. (2628.HK) and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. (2318.HK)--both said they have no operations in Japan's market. A senior China Life executive said the firm has invested a small amount of funds in Japan's financial markets as part of its global investment portfolio, but he said the exposure was negligible.

PICC Property & Casualty Co. (2328.HK), the nation's largest non-life insurer by premiums, said Monday it has no direct exposure in Japan.

The only Hong Kong-based insurer with a small exposure to Japan's insurance sector is China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. (0966.HK), a mid-sized property insurer controlled by its Chinese parent, China Taiping Insurance Group.

China Taiping said Monday it expects its reinsurance unit to have losses of up to HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) as a result of the quake, representing 3%-4% of its gross written premiums.

Analysts said the other Chinese insurers don't have reinsurance businesses.

While the exact cost of the catastrophe won't be known for months, Boston-based AIR Worldwide estimated Sunday the quake caused insured property losses of US$15 billion-US$35 billion. If claims come in at the middle of that range, the cost of the disaster would surpass all other natural catastrophes except for 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Of the three main international insurers listed in Hong Kong, Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) and AIA Group Ltd. (1299.HK) said they see a limited impact on their operations from the quake, while Manulife Financial Corp. (0945.HK) said it doesn't anticipate the earthquake having a material impact on its earnings this year.

Prudential, the U.K.'s largest insurer by market value, which was listed in Hong Kong last year, has been scaling down its life insurance operations in Japan since February 2010, said Chad Harris Tendler, a spokesman for the company's Asian unit.

AIA said it doesn't have meaningful operations in Japan, though its parent, American International Group Inc., has a separate Japan unit.

-By Fiona Law, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; [e-mail]