The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will require insurers to report any large stakes they hold in other companies and apply for permission before undertaking any significant market activity which may lead to a take-over of a listed company, Caixin reported.
Insurers would be prevented from using insurance premiums or borrowed funds from asset management plans to acquire other companies, Caixin said.
Insurers are presently allowed to invest 30 percent of their total assets in securities, including listed-company equity.
China Vanke, the mainland's biggest property company by sales, is trying to fend off a hostile takeover by financial conglomerate Baoneng Group with a $6.9 billion deal with white knight Shenzhen Metro. However the deal was opposed by major shareholders as it will dilute their shareholding.