The government is using Anbang as an example to others not to mix the business of life insurance with wealth management, says Sam Radwan, Enhance International.

The troubles surrounding Chinese insurer Anbang are part of a "house-cleaning" that was "well overdue," an industry expert said Thursday.

Last week, Anbang — best known for its 2015 purchase of New York’s landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel — said its . The brief statement cited unspecified personal reasons for the move, and it came after the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said in April that its head, Xiang Junbo, was being investigated for suspected disciplinary violations.

"This is part of an effort to clean house in the insurance industry. Ever since  the chairman of the CIRC got detained, everybody saw this coming," said Sam Radwan, partner and co-founder of Enhance International.

“It’s not just Anbang they are looking at; they are probably looking at other companies,” he added in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Radwan’s management consultancy advises the CIRC and Chinese insurers China Life, Sunshine and Taikang.

As part of the concerted effort to clean up the insurance industry, particularly the life insurance business, authorities are sending the message that “you’re not in the business of wealth management, you’re in the business of providing insurance protection,” he said.