China will probably surpass Japan as the world's second-largest insurance market this year thanks to the demand of the country's fast-growing middle class for insurance coverage, according to industry regulators.

The total income from insurance premiums in the country reached 1.9 trillion yuan ($287.9 billion) in the first six months of 2016, up 37.3 percent year-on-year. The growth rate is much higher than the 17.5 percent in the first half of 2014 and 20 percent in the first half of 2015, said the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

"In the past three years, we've seen impressive achievements in China's insurance sector, with its global ranking improving from the sixth to third," said Xiang Junbo, chairman of the CIRC.