In 2026, dividend insurance will climb to the core position of life insurance companies' shelves at a faster pace and with a larger proportion.

Industry exchange data shows that in the first half of the year, the original premium income of dividend insurance reached 1.0126 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 94.4%, accounting for over 35% of the total premium of life insurance companies, the highest point since 2015.

Compared with traditional fixed income products, dividend insurance has a more flexible "cost adjustment mechanism". While providing customers with a minimum profit guarantee, it can also share the operating results of insurance companies with them. Therefore, dividend insurance has become a common choice for insurance companies and customers.

In July, the China Insurance Industry Association announced a research value of 1.94% for the reserve interest rate for the second quarter of 2026, ending the unilateral downward trend and further highlighting the value of insurance products.

Recently, Sunshine Life Insurance launched Sunshine Seal (Bauhinia Edition) Lifetime Life Insurance (Dividend Type) (hereinafter referred to as "Sunshine Seal (Bauhinia Edition)"), which provides customers with death insurance benefits protection while presenting a dual layer structure of "fixed cash value+non guaranteed dividends". While undertaking customers' pursuit of long-term benefits advantages, it also provides an observation sample of the industry's dividend insurance era.

When dividend insurance moves from the "supporting role" of the past to the "C" of the present, the problem facing the industry also changes from "whether to do it" to "whether to do it well", which also puts forward a new test for the investment ability, asset liability management ability and long-term operation ability of insurance companies.

The logical transformation of dividend insurance from substitute to main track

On July 20, 2026, the China Insurance Industry Association announced that the research value for the reserve interest rate for the second quarter of 2026 was 1.94%. Since the fourth quarter of 2025, the research value of the predetermined interest rate has rebounded twice, which means that the predetermined interest rate has basically bid farewell to the unilateral downward trend in recent years and will move towards a new cycle of fluctuating development.

Against the backdrop of fluctuating interest rates, the core issue facing customers has shifted - what kind of products can withstand cycles and gain long-term benefits? The profit structure of dividend insurance, which combines offense and defense, demonstrates unique adaptability advantages in this context: ensuring that certain parts provide a certain safety cushion, while the floating parts retain upward space. Dividend insurance is not a panic substitute during periods of declining interest rates, but an advantageous choice for cross cycle asset allocation during periods of stable interest rates. It is a more responsible cross cycle product allocation for customers.

At the same time, the demonstration interest rate of dividend insurance is becoming increasingly stable, and the industry is bidding farewell to the logic of high demonstration "internal competition" and entering a new cycle of differentiated pricing and stable dividend redemption.

For insurance companies, the level of dividends is related to the operating results of dividend accounts, which can reduce the dependence of new business on fixed guaranteed income and reduce the rigid cost of new liabilities; For policyholders, the guaranteed portion provides a definite safety cushion, while the floating portion retains upward space to share the operating results of the insurance company.

A 'safety cushion' to ensure benefits and an 'upward space' for dividend flexibility

The product design of Sunshine Seal (Bauhinia Edition) clearly responds to the requirements for product strength during the transition period of dividend insurance.

As a new product driven by two wheels of "guaranteed benefits+floating dividends", Sunshine Seal (Zijing Edition) is launched in the form of a dividend based incremental lifetime life insurance, providing customers with dual value of lifelong protection and long-term wealth appreciation.

At the deterministic level, starting from the second policy year, the effective insurance amount for each subsequent policy year is equal to the effective insurance amount of the previous policy year multiplied by (1+1.75%), which is written into the contract and permanently locked. No matter how market interest rates fluctuate, the guaranteed portion is a safety cushion for policyholders to preserve and increase their wealth. At the same time, the policy dividend mechanism provides upward flexibility - policyholders can participate in the actual distribution of operating results of dividend insurance business.

In terms of flexibility, the product supports multiple payment methods such as single payment, 3-year payment, 5-year payment, 6-year payment, and 10-year payment. The maximum loan amount of the policy can reach 80% of the cash value at that time, and the cumulative reduction of the basic insurance amount applied for within each policy year shall not exceed 20% of the basic insurance amount at the time of the contract coming into effect. The design of reducing the basic insurance amount (hereinafter referred to as "reduction") and the policy loan function allows long-term protection products to release liquidity when necessary, balancing the dual needs of protection and fund mobilization.

Scale from "demonstration" to "redemption"

If investment ability is a test of how much dividends an insurance company will receive from its operations, the dividend realization rate is a key indicator for measuring the insurance company's ability to deliver on its promises. The formula for calculating the dividend realization rate is: actual dividend ÷ demonstration dividend × 100%. The dividend realization rate not only depends on the actual dividend level, but also on the setting of the demonstration benchmark. It is a relative indicator rather than an absolute return level.

But this does not mean that the dividend realization rate has no reference value. Under the same demonstration benchmark, the higher the implementation rate, the more dividends actually distributed. More importantly, the sustainability and stability of dividend realization rate are the key indicators for measuring the long-term investment ability of insurance companies. This also means that the essence of choosing dividend insurance is to select an insurance company's long-term operational and investment capabilities. This is not only a product configuration, but also a cross cycle trust vote.

The prompt is as follows:

1. Sunshine Life Insurance Sunshine Seal (Bauhinia Edition) Lifetime Life Insurance (Dividend Type) "is a dividend type insurance product, and future policy dividends are non guaranteed benefits. Its dividend distribution is uncertain, and in some policy years, the dividend may be zero.

2. Policy loans and policy reductions must comply with the provisions of the insurance contract. Please refer to the insurance contract terms for details.

3. This article is for reference only. The specific insurance liability, exemption of liability, and insurance rules shall be subject to the insurance contract.