BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- About 59.18 million elderly people in China are covered with commercial health insurance, with the penetration rate standing at 35.5 percent, said China's top insurance regulator Thursday.

Covering almost all types of insurance, over 2,400 insurance products are available for people aged 65 and above, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In the past five years, China's commercial insurers have handled 57.53 million cases of compensation for the aging population, offering payouts of 234 billion yuan (about 33.91 billion U.S. dollars).

The administration will utilize the supplementary role of commercial insurance in elderly care, step up the development of commercial health insurance products suitable for the elderly and enrich the commercial insurance supply.

China has urged the promotion of commercial insurance in social services to provide stronger support for the aging population and cater to public demands for other types of insurance.