China's insurance premium from online sales surged in the first half of the year (H1) following a push by firms to expand businesses online, industry data showed on Monday.

Online users spent 81.6 billion yuan (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) on insurance via the Internet in H1, more than tripling from a year earlier, according to statistics from Insurance Association of China.

Online sales account for 4.7 percent of all insurance purchases, and is emerging as a key engine to drive the sector's growth, Liu Qi, general secretary of the association said.

Last year, the sector recorded online premium sales of 85.9 billion yuan, up 195 percent compared with 2013.

To regulate insurers' online business activity, rules are set to be rolled out from October.