Jennifer Rudden
Research Lead Financial Services & Real estate
Life insurance market in Italy - statistics & facts
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance provider and the policy holder which consists of financial protection for the beneficiary in case of death of the insured person. Generally, the policy holder pays periodic amounts of money (premiums) for the duration of the policy, and, upon death, the insurance company pays a specific sum of money (benefit) to the designated beneficiary. The insurance policy can also cover other expenses related to mortgages, burial and funeral.
The Italian life insurance market is one of the largest in Europe
The life insurance market in Italy is the third largest in Europe, after the United Kingdom and France. As expected, the value of life insurance gross written premiums in Italy reached approximately 100 billion euros, accounting for most of the premiums in the insurance sector and propelling Italy to the aforementioned position. Furthermore, the value of life insurance benefits paid out by insurers in Italy is also significative on a European scale. In 2019, Italy ranked fourth in this respect, with approximately 76 billion euros paid out in benefits. This figure constitutes over ten percent of the total benefits paid on the life insurance market in Europe. Moreover, when considering the various distribution channels, most life insurance policies are taken out through bancassurance, which originated approximately 74 percent of the total life insurance sector as of 2019.Poste Vita and Assicurazioni Generali - two Italian insurance giants
The life insurance market in Italy is dominated by Poste Vita, a company that registered almost 18 billion euros in terms of gross premium revenue in 2019. However significant this figure might be, the leading insurance group in Italy in terms of total gross premiums written is Assicurazioni Generali. Generali reported that the group’s premiums in both life and non-life segments reached a value of over 68 billion euros. This figure is almost four times as much as reported by Poste Vita, second in the ranking with its almost 18 billion euros worth of gross premiums written.
