Statista - The Statistics Portal (2024)

The insurance sector rebounded relatively quickly from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, inflation is the next hurdle for this industry for two reasons: First, rising inflation increases the cost of buying insurance for consumers who may avoid purchasing certain non-mandatory types of insurance, such as travel insurance or pet insurance. In a 2022 survey, 18 percent of UK insurance customers said that they would spend less on travel insurance due to inflation. Secondly, inflation results in rising claims costs, especially for non-life insurance providers. In response to inflation, many central banks hiked interest rates in 2022, which will improve investment returns for insurance companies who are significant institutional investors.

Report on the topic

Insurance is one of the largest industries in the world, with a global market value greater than the gross domestic product (GDP) of many countries. While estimates can vary, most sources put the figure at around 5.5 trillion U.S. dollars of insurance premiums written in 2021. For perspective, the only two countries with a higher GDP than this in 2021 were the U.S. and China – making the global insurance industry larger than the overall economy of countries such as Japan, Germany, and the UK.

Global insurance industry
Europe's largest insurers
Reinsurance

Historically life insurance has been the largest segment of the global insurance market, accounting for 55 to 60 percent of the market since at least 2006. This changed in 2017 though, with the non-life segment achieving a market share of about 53 percent. Non-life insurance relates to the protection of material and financial possessions such homes and cars. Conversely, life insurance covers insurances relating to the life and death of a person, including health insurance in many countries.

Non-life insurance worldwide
Life insurance worldwide
U.S. private health insurance

Open insurance is posed to become the "the next big thing" in the insurance sector and is a similar idea to open banking. Open insurance refers to insurance-related personal and non-personal data and is usually accessed and shared via APIs. By 2032, there are estimated to be more than 800 million open insurance users worldwide.

Insurtech worldwide
Cyber insurance worldwide
B2C insurtech in the UK

Based on revenue, the largest insurance company in the world is U.S.-based Berkshire Hathaway, who recorded an annual revenue of over 270 billion dollars in 2021. This ranking is somewhat misleading though, as Berkshire Hathaway are a holding company with investments across many industries. The next largest insurance companies – whose revenue is tied more directly to the insurance industry – are Chinese company Ping An, China Life Insurance, and German insurer Allianz.

Ping An
Munich Re
Berkshire Hathaway

The largest insurance market in the world is the United States, followed by China and Japan. The value of insurance premiums written in the U.S. alone exceeds the value of premiums written in the next eight largest insurance markets.

Insurance in the U.S.
Insurance in Europe
Insurance in China

• Financial Institutions
• Financial Services
• Insurance

Allianz Group

Aviva Plc.

Berkshire Hathaway

Corporate insurance

Cyber insurance

Drone insurance in the United States

Employer-sponsored health insurance in the U.S.

FinTech in China

Global insurance industry