Longevity Era and Long-Termism: How Taikang's Innovative Business Model Drives Growth

In 2021, Taikang Insurance Group’s assets under management surpassed RMB 2.7 trillion, with the value of new policies leading the market at a double-digit growth rate, while its nationwide layout for medical care, elderly care, rehabilitation, and end-of-life care advanced steadily. Taikang ranked 343rd on the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list, an improvement of 81 positions from the previous year. Chen Dongsheng, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Taikang Insurance Group, published his monograph, The Age of Longevity, sharing Taikang’s original insights and innovative practices with the life insurance industry and society at large. Against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, mounting pressure on economic growth, and challenges facing industry development, Taikang achieved positive growth in performance, delivering outstanding results.

Industry experts have evaluated that Taikang’s counter-cyclical growth is the result of adhering to long-termism, steadfastly implementing its medical and elderly care strategy for 15 years, and innovating its business model. It is also an inevitable outcome of forward-looking layout and continuous exploration to meet people’s needs for longevity, health, and wealth in the era of longevity. After 25 years of development, Taikang’s big health industry has formed three major business segments: payment, services, and investment ecosystem, establishing a value foundation centered on “business for good.”

Taikang’s payment segment, namely its insurance business, aims to provide more efficient financing solutions and accumulate funds for people’s health and elderly care expenses. In 2021, Taikang Life Insurance gained recognition in the mainstream market, with its embedded value reaching a record high. Its pioneering “super experiential marketing” model shone brightly, keeping its number of high-net-worth clients firmly in the first tier of the financial and insurance industry, while the Health and Wealth Planner (HWP) program saw rapid growth in workforce size. Taikang Pension’s livelihood-oriented business has cumulatively served 490 million person-times; among these, its long-term care insurance has covered 43 cities, ranking first in the market. It won the bid for the critical illness insurance project for urban and rural residents in Guangxi, leveraging its ability to control healthcare fund expenditures and actively contributing to public welfare protection. Furthermore, Taikang Pension ranked among the market leaders in both the growth rate of entrusted assets for enterprise annuities and the growth of entrusted assets for occupational annuities. Taikang Online has entered a phase of profitability, achieving nationwide coverage in auto insurance, thereby laying a solid foundation for its subsequent healthy development.

The service segment has become a standout hallmark of Taikang, serving as critical infrastructure for public elderly care and healthcare. In 2021, Taikang’s nationwide expansion of its integrated elderly care, healthcare, and wellness services continued to advance steadily. The “Elderly Care, Healthcare, and Wellness” business achieved a presence in 25 cities, with its senior living communities operating as a chain of 10 communities across 9 cities. Taikang residents now number over 5,800, including numerous academicians, presidents and party secretaries of key universities, expert professors, and artists, making Taikang Home a true “Home for the Builders of the People’s Republic of China.” Taikang’s hospice care program was officially launched and is currently operational in Beijing, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Guangzhou. The healthcare segment has shown positive development, with the synergistic model between Taikang Bybo Dental and insurance businesses demonstrating tangible results.

Taikang’s assets under management (AUM) reached a new high, entering the global top 100 and ranking sixth in China. Taikang has invested in 32 companies within its big health ecosystem, achieving preliminary full coverage of the big health industry chain. The ecosystem companies invested by Taikang have engaged in extensive cooperation with Taikang Insurance Group, making substantial progress in investment synergy. In June 2021, Taikang officially joined the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), becoming the 4,000th signatory and the third Chinese insurance institution to do so, marking a significant step in Taikang’s commitment to responsible investment.

At Taikang’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, Chen Dongsheng summarized Taikang’s commitment to “business for good” with the principles: “Do no evil, avoid arrogance, put people first, and benefit society.” Customer-centric, Taikang has continuously enhanced customer experience, with cumulative claim payments exceeding RMB 100 billion and the registered user base of its “Taikang Life” ecosystem surpassing 18 million. Employee-centric, Taikang fosters a sense of fulfillment among its staff by relocating its headquarters to the Taikang Group Tower and continually optimizing employee health management. Committed to social contribution, Taikang has actively donated to emergency disaster relief efforts, such as the Henan floods, and to educational institutions including Wuhan University. The Taikang Yicai Public Welfare Foundation has been rated as a 5A-level social organization; its “Yicai Qianjia” project has added 90 newly supported elderly care institutions, bringing the cumulative total to over 200.

The Era of Longevity is Arriving: The Advent of the 100-Year LifeAs we enter an era where individuals live longer with chronic conditions, everyone will face the prolonged challenge of navigating profound changes in human life. Elderly care and health will undoubtedly become the most significant demands and the foremost public welfare concerns. Taikang aims to drive high-quality industry development, support public welfare initiatives, and serve national strategies through innovative business models.