Bermuda-based Starr Insurance and Reinsurance Ltd has acquired a 20 percent stake in Chinese property re/insurer Dazhong Insurance Co Ltd.The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has approved Dazhong Insurance to issue an additional 286.5 million ordinary shares to Starr.Following this, Starr, which is also known as Starr International and whose chairman is former AIG boss Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, will become Dazhong’s strategic investor, the regulator said in a statement.Dazhong Insurance and Starr did not disclose the financial details.In the first quarter of 2011, Dazhong Insurance reported total original premium income of 463 million yuan ($71.3 million), noted the CIRC.Dazhong was established in 1995 by 26 companies, with registered capital of 1.15 billion yuan. It writes property insurance and reinsurance in Shanghai and in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Shandong.Starr Insurance and Reinsurance, also known as Starr International Insurance, underwrites submissions from a group of speciality insurance agencies Starr Underwriting Agencies owned by CV Starr & Co Inc since 2007.The company said it targets industrial, commercial, retail and government entity risks globally and accesses business produced by Starr Underwriting Agencies in Europe and Asia.In the first quarter of this year, the Shanghai insurance market generated total original premium income of more than 24.82 billion yuan. Of that, property insurance accounted for 6.79 billion yuan; life insurance 16.29 billion yuan; accident insurance 517 million yuan; and health insurance 1.23 billion yuan, according to the CIRC.