China's first online insurer Zhongan reports loss in 2017

China's first online insurer Zhongan Online P&C Insurance reported a net loss of 996 million yuan (157 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, against a gain of 9.37 million yuan in 2016, according to its annual report released on Tuesday.

A screen shot from the homepage of Zhongan Online P&C Insurance [Photo: China Plus]

Rising commission and management cost as well as unearned premium reserve payments and exchange rate losses were to blame for the net loss, according to the company's first annual report since its IPO in Hong Kong in September last year.

The premiums of the insurer, backed by China's Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent, reached 5.95 billion yuan in 2017, up 75 percent year on year, according to the report.

Accident insurance, return freight insurance and health insurance were the top three contributors to the premiums, it said.

The Shanghai-based online insurer was set up in 2013 by Alibaba, Tencent and Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. It claims to be China's largest insurer in terms of customers, with 492 million enrolled in plans by the end of 2016, according to the company website.