Worldwide insurance companies are looking at opportunities of expanding their business into China. The tourism industry in China is growing and, as it does so, many insurance companies are looking to China as a good opportunity for growth in the travel insurance industry.

A recent report, published by RNCOS, called "China Insurance Sector Analysis (2006), has looked at the travel insurance industry in China. The report shows that more Chinese tourists have been traveling abroad. It also predicts that, by the year 2020, the number of Chinese tourists will increase to 100 million and revenue from tourism in China will reach 3.3 trillion yuan. The report also looked at marketing strategies for the travel insurance industry, opportunities and challenges and prospective areas for investment in the insurance industry.

Another report, by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), found that insurance premiums in China will double by 2010. The reports says that as people spend more mon ey on travel, there will be more demand for travel insurance. The CIRC says that China will build a good environment for the insurance industry, that include large insurance companies that are internationally competitive. It also urges insurance companies to explore the markets and introduce more insurance products.

Tourism and insurance agencies in China have been trying to raise public awareness in China about the need for travel insurance. They have launched a campaign with this view in mind. The campaign also encourages insurance firms to sell travel insurance.

The AIU is one of those companies that is looking with interest to the Chinese travel insurance industry. At the moment, only 20 percent of Chinese tourists leave the country with travel insurance. Current prices for travel insurance in China is approximately 10 yuan to 20 yuan. This suggests that the travel insurance market has the potential to be worth 10 billion yuan.