Jennifer Rudden
Research Lead Financial Services & Real estate
Global insurance industry - statistics & facts
Both the number and cost of global risks are rising due to drivers, such as climate change and cyber crime, and these trends are impacting in the insurance industry. The global insurance market was worth almost six trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, but this looks set to increase substantially in the coming years. Cyber crime is consistently seen as a leading risk to global business by risk management experts. Meanwhile, the cost of natural disaster losses rose over the past two decades. These risks are likely to grow in the future, which will sustain the growth of the insurance sector.
Which markets are the largest?
The United States is the largest insurance market globally by a wide margin. In 2022, the highest value of life and non-life direct premiums was written on the U.S. insurance market. China was the second largest market, though the U.S. market was more than four times the size of the Chinese market. The UK, Germany, Japan, and France were the next largest OECD insurance markets after the United States. Insurance companies from these countries were among the largest globally in terms of market cap.Who are the world’s leading insurers?
Unsurprisingly, in terms of market capitalization, the global insurance market was led by U.S.-based insurers. Premiums written describe the total amount customers pay for insurance coverage and are an insurer’s main source of revenue. In 2022, U.S. insurer, Berkshire Hathaway, generated the highest revenue worldwide, reaching well over 300 billion U.S. dollars. Two Chinese companies, Ping An Insurance and China Life Insurance, rounded out the top three insurers.
