American International Assurance Co. Ltd. (AIA) is set to form a long-term and strategic bancassurance partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) with the aim of becoming a more prominent player in the Chinese insurance market.

China Life Insurance Company Limited (China Life), the largest life insurance company in China by premium, has started to shift its sales strategy towards the bancassurance distribution channels. As a first for the company, the bancassurance channel has contributed more than 70% of the company's insurance premiums for the first half of 2010, becoming a vital premium generator for the company.

International insurance company, Aviva, has recorded a 21 percent increase in operating profits in the first half of 2010. Aviva is also in the midst of discussing significant structural changes to their profit sharing joint-venture with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which comes shortly after their deal to be the exclusive provider of life protection insurance products with Santander in the UK. Aviva…