BEIJING — China's five listed insurance companies reported strong month-on-month growth in premium income in March as work resumptions accelerate across the country following basic containment of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The five listed insurers, including China Life Insurance Co. and the People's Insurance Company Group of China (PICC), saw combined premium income expand 92.4 percent on a monthly basis, Securities Daily reported.

In breakdown, premium income of China Life surged 131.3 percent in March from the previous month, while that of PICC went up 115.48 percent.

Zhu Junsheng, a researcher with the Development Research Center under the State Council, attributed the robust growth to the easing situation of the epidemic and the insurers' push for online services.

In the first quarter, combined premium income of the five top insurance companies came in at 948.1 billion yuan (about 134 billion U.S. dollars), up 4.07 percent year on year.

As China's economy gradually recovers from the epidemic impact, the insurance market will see a more visible rebound in the second quarter, Zhu noted.