China Pacific Insurance (Group) has become the first Chinese insurer to launch a shipping insurance department, reported Shanghai Daily. The move was described as an attempt to take advantage of Shanghai’s ambitions to become a global financial and shipping centre by 2020.??

The Shanghai-based insurer said its shipping insurance department will cover financial losses from shipping risks. In 2008, it took in Rmb1.65bn in premiums from the shipping industry, accounting for 15 per cent of the domestic market.