BEIJING — China's insurance sector saw steady growth in its total assets in the first nine months, according to data released by the country's top banking and insurance regulator.

The total assets of the sector stood at 22.4 trillion yuan (about $3.4 trillion) at the end of September, an increase of 1.9 trillion yuan from the beginning of the year, said the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In the first three quarters of the year, Chinese insurers' premium income increased 7.2 percent year-on-year to 3.7 trillion yuan, the data showed.

Compensation expenses totaled 998.9 billion yuan in the same period, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.