Chinese mainland's insurance regulator is urging domestic insurers to tap overseas risk-management expertise in order to ensure that rising premiums in the industry are managed smoothly and safely.

All fund management units at mainland insurance firms must appoint chief risk-control officers and should conduct more checks to prevent commercial bribery, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a Website statement. "Management of insurance funds is the lifeline of a steady and rapid development of the industry," the regulator said. "Insurers should fully use international experience to form a risk-management system."

The board of directors at each mainland insurer will be responsible for any wrongdoing incurred while managing premiums, the statement said. Each board must set up internal investment-decision and risk-control committees, it said.

The mainland's insurance market has been expanding by 25 percent annually in the past decade as mounting household incomes spurred citizens to seek commercial insurance for protection and investment.

The mainland aims to double annual premiums to 1 trillion Yuan (US$127 billion) by 2010 and more than triple the industry's assets to 5 trillion Yuan by then, the regulator said early this year.

The watchdog is now pressing ahead with an industry-wide program to clamp down on irregular investment of premiums.