BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's insurance sector saw premium income fall 3.33 percent year on year to 2.2 trillion yuan (about 319.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, according to official data.

The drop slightly narrowed from the 5.9-percent fall seen in the first five months.

Property insurance firms posted a 14.2-percent increase, but life insurance companies, which account for over 70 percent of the total premium income, registered an 8.5-percent dip, data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission showed.

By the end of June, the industry had combined assets totaling 17.6 trillion yuan, up 5.35 percent from the beginning of 2018.

Authorities moved to tighten regulation on the insurance sector last year as they put a priority on preventing systemic financial risks.