BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a leading insurer in the country, saw its premium income increase by over 20 percent year on year in the first two months of 2019, company data showed.

Illustrations: VCG

Premium income in the January-February period totaled 189.2 billion yuan ($28.2 billion), up 22.38 percent from a year earlier, according to unaudited figures released by the insurer.

That was a much faster growth than the 4.7-percent year-on-year increase recorded in 2018.

Chinese insurers have seen stronger premium growth in recent months after authorities tightened regulations last year to fend off financial risks in the world's second-biggest insurance market.

The sector has shown a stronger capacity to forestall risks as its overall leverage has gradually dropped and business structure improved, the country's insurance regulator said in December.