Are licenses no longer attractive? The price has dropped from 30 million to 15 million, with insurance licenses being "halved," and over 130 institutions have exited the market in five years.

(Image source: Visual China)

Blue Whale News, February 26th — Reporter Chen Xiaojuan “Current licensed insurance intermediaries are barely selling licenses; over a year, only a few deals are made.” A veteran license broker admitted to the reporter that the days of institutions earning easy profits from licenses are gone.

Blue Whale News’s investigations show that five or six years ago, a nationwide insurance brokerage license starting at 30 million yuan could sell for around 15 to 18 million yuan, a 40%-50% drop in value. Despite this, market transaction volumes remain low, and some brokerage firms face difficulties in market-based transfer of equity.

Behind this, there are factors such as challenging business conditions. With the deepening of campaigns like “Streamlining Virtual Operations and Improving Quality” and policies like “Unified Reporting and Business Integration,” the industry is gradually moving away from a broad, unrefined operating model. The high-cost arbitrage model that some insurance intermediaries relied on has been exposed, and institutions lacking professional capabilities or proper governance cannot benefit from market-driven opportunities.

As arbitrage spaces shrink, professional standards rise, and business expansion becomes more difficult, some institutions are voluntarily withdrawing. According to incomplete statistics, at least 30 insurance professional intermediary licenses will be canceled between 2025 and 2026, with seven having already exited since 2026. The insurance intermediary industry is undergoing a structural transformation from “scattered and small” to “specialized and strong.”

“Hotcakes” No Longer Sought? Major Devaluation of Licensed Insurance Intermediary Licenses

In recent years, the market for licensed insurance intermediaries has cooled significantly. Several industry insiders told the reporter that the value of licensed insurance intermediaries continues to decline, and market transactions have slowed markedly.

One industry insider said that around 2020 was the peak period for license values. Nationwide insurance brokerage licenses generally started at 30 million yuan, with some high-quality or branch-including licenses reaching up to 50 million yuan. Since 2021, prices have steadily fallen. “Currently, clean, debt-free, litigation-free, and valid nationwide brokerage licenses typically sell for 15 to 18 million yuan; licenses with existing business or assets can reach 20 to 30 million yuan, but actual transactions are rare.” Roughly estimating, license prices have shrunk by 40%-50% over five years.

(Information on a nationwide insurance brokerage license pending transfer)

The insider revealed that, based on cases they know, there are four main reasons for license transfers: first, industry dividends are fading, and profit margins have narrowed significantly; second, operating costs are high, making long-term sustainability difficult; third, issues with major shareholders’ management and tight capital chains; fourth, stricter regulatory requirements, making it hard for some institutions without actual business to survive.

The reporter found that equity transfers and judicial dispositions of insurance intermediaries are also often met with cold responses. For example, China Telecom’s Orange Insurance Agency’s equity was repeatedly listed for sale, with the minimum price dropping from 77.7 million yuan but no buyers emerged, leading to deregistration; Xinxi Insurance Brokerage’s 100% equity was listed on the property exchange at 13 million yuan but attracted no interest, and after judicial auction, it was repeatedly unsold, with risks including operational debts, equity freezes, and labor disputes; Beijing Gongxinying Insurance Brokerage’s equity was auctioned multiple times without success and was eventually deregistered due to abnormal operations and expired qualifications.

(Image source: JD Asset Trading Platform)

Industry insiders told the reporter that the valuation logic for licensed insurance intermediaries no longer depends on license scarcity. Instead, it mainly depends on the cleanliness of the entity’s qualifications, completeness of online sales licenses, reasonable branch layouts, and registered capital. “If a company has debts, litigation issues, or expired qualifications, transfer becomes much more difficult.”

Chen Hui, director of the China Actuarial Science and Technology Laboratory at Central University of Finance and Economics, said that the devaluation of insurance licenses is mainly due to the market returning to rationality, with licenses shifting more toward “business needs” rather than “innovation needs.”

Tian Lihui, dean of the Nankai University Institute of Financial Development, pointed out that this phenomenon essentially reflects the disappearance of “shell resource” premiums. In the past, licenses were expensive because of entry barriers that created monopoly rents; now, prices have fallen because tighter regulation has increased the cost of “buying shells,” including shareholder qualification reviews and stockpile cleanup, along with significantly higher compliance costs after licensing. The return on investment cycle has also lengthened. Additionally, the rise of internet giants and leading insurers’ direct sales channels has weakened traditional intermediaries’ channel power. Licenses are no longer “automatic profit machines,” and their financial attributes are becoming more rational.

Jushunsheng, a postdoctoral fellow and professor of applied economics at Peking University, believes that the revaluation of license value reflects the insurance intermediary market’s gradual maturity, shifting from a low-threshold “license-dependent” model to a more structured development based on customer management, professional services, and digital capabilities.

Rapid Exit: At Least 7 Insurance Professional Intermediaries Have Withdrawn This Year

Alongside the sharp decline in license prices, institutions are also accelerating their exit from the market.

According to information from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission’s official website, several insurance intermediary licenses were canceled at the start of 2026. Most of these are for joint agencies, including village banks and auto service providers; among professional intermediaries, seven have been deregistered—five insurance agencies: Shandong Changhong Insurance Agency Co., Guangdong Zongheng Ruitong Insurance Sales Co., Zhejiang Wanyin Sunshine Auto Insurance Sales Co., Shanxi Zhile Insurance Agency, Heilongjiang Qiming Insurance Agency; and two insurance brokerages: Dayi Insurance Brokerage Co. and Beijing Gongxinying Insurance Brokerage. Most cancellations were initiated by the institutions themselves.

Looking back to 2025, at least 30 insurance professional intermediaries had their licenses canceled, including 26 insurance agencies and four brokerages. Most exited voluntarily, with two licenses revoked due to violations.

Over the 2020–2024 period, the number of legal entities in China’s insurance professional intermediary sector was approximately 2,640, 2,610, 2,582, 2,566, and 2,539 respectively. Roughly estimating, at least 131 professional insurance intermediaries exited the market over these five years.

The revaluation of licenses and the accelerated exit of institutions indicate that the insurance intermediary industry is undergoing a structural transformation from “scattered and small” to “specialized and strong.”

Jushunsheng pointed out that policy-wise, the “Reporting and Business Integration” policy is advancing, with adjustments to commission structures, channel costs, and value chains. Regulatory guidance is pushing intermediaries to improve compliance and optimize operations. Stricter supervision is putting pressure on small and mixed-activity firms, possibly accelerating their exit if they lack professional capabilities. Market-wise, insurers’ increasing demands for multi-channel deployment, product differentiation, and cost control are making competition more rational and structured. Small and medium intermediaries face profitability pressures, leading some to exit voluntarily. Institutionally, intermediaries lacking customer management, data accumulation, risk management, and digital operation capabilities have limited survival space.

Tian Lihui noted that the previous reliance on “headcount fees” and regulatory arbitrage for growth in the insurance intermediary industry has become ineffective under strict “Reporting and Business Integration” regulation. The authorities aim to eliminate “zombie” firms and clean up violations, pushing intermediaries from “sales channels” toward “professional services.” Future industry trends are expected to show a “dumbbell” pattern: leading national intermediaries consolidating market share through scale and branding, and smaller, niche “boutique” firms specializing in specific areas. Small and medium institutions that rely solely on commissions without distinctive features will be accelerated out.

Jushunsheng predicts that by 2026, the insurance intermediary market will likely see normalization of exits, increased concentration, rationalized license values, and accelerated professionalization and digital transformation.