BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese insurers saw their combined premium income grow at a double-digit rate in January, latest official data showed.

Premium income totaled 850 billion yuan (about 126.4 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up 24 percent year on year, according to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

That was in sharp contrast with a near 20-percent year-on-year slump in the same period of 2018.

Premium income from health insurance business surged 49.8 percent in January, while that from property and life insurance business increased 13.9 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively.

The rise came 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 regulator said in December.