SHANGHAI will try out using insurance capital to build apartments in Pudong New Area on a trial basis, the local insurance regulator said.
　
Some insurers are talking with district officials about using the insurance capital to build low-rent apartments in the district to attract foreign talents working in Shanghai, the Shanghai Bureau of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said. Such a proposal seeks to widen the insurers' investment channels.

Domestic insurers were formerly restricted in their investment tools, with bank deposits and bonds as main choices. The limited low returns curb insurers' bid to boost profit.

Investment channels are now being broadened to shares and the infrastructure sector and insurers are also allowed to invest in overseas fixed income products to raise their profitability.

"Shanghai enjoys a sound basis to further boost its insurance market," Wu Dingfu, chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission said earlier. "The city is expected to lead the industry nationwide as a pilot for innovation and reforms and a training base for insurance talents and professionals."

Other innovations being discussed include the promotion of healthcare management services and an insurance policy against the quality of construction projects.

Healthcare insurers act as a middle-man to manage the healthcare payment and write-offs. This new channel will boost the income sources for insurers and free companies from the human resources management burden.

Insurance premiums jumped 22 percent to 40.7 billion yuan (US$5.25 billion) in Shanghai in 2006 as demand for financial protection expanded. The figure accounted for 7.22 percent of the country's total premiums.