BEIJING -- China's insurance sector raked in 564.1 billion yuan (US$71.6 billion) in premiums last year, up 14.4 percent on the previous year, according to a national work conference held in Beijing on Sunday.

Insurance companies nationwide recorded returns of 95.5 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion), with their return ratio averaging 5.8 percent, up 2.2 percent.

The total premiums included 150.9 billion yuan (US$19.1 billion) for property insurance, up 22.6 percent, 359.3 billion yuan (US$45.6 billion) for life insurance, up 10.6 percent, and 37.7 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) for health insurance, up 20.9 percent.

Sources at the meeting said that the insurance premiums made up two percent of China's GDP last year and averaged 431.3 yuan (54.7) per-capita.

In 2006 the insurance sector paid 143.8 billion yuan (US$18.2 billion) in compensation, up 26.5 percent.

At the end of last year, gross assets of insurance companies nationwide amounted to 1.97 trillion yuan (US$250 billion), up 29 percent.

"Despite the growth in business, problems remain, including low efficiency and high costs," said Wu Dingfu, head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the industry watchdog, at the conference.