China's insurance regulator has warned the sector could face a difficult year ahead.

Xiang Junbo, chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), told the industry's annual conference: "We see much more difficulties in ensuring steady growth of the industry this year, due to a comparatively lower investment returns and an imminent peak of overdue policy payouts."

After experiencing average growth of more than 20 percent over the past two decades, China's premium income growth slowed to 8 percent last year, worth 1.55 trillion yuan ($248 billion), led by health insurance premiums, according to the CIRC.