Global insurance premiums increased 1.5% in real terms1 to nearly USD 5 trillion in 2017, after rising 2.2% in 2016. Global life premiums increased 0.5% in 2017, while global non-life premiums rose 2.8%. Growth in both the life and non-life sectors slowed. Falling life premiums in advanced markets such as the US and Western Europe were the main cause of drag on overall global premium growth. Emerging markets, especially China, continued to drive growth. The Swiss Re Institute expects global non-life premiums to rise, led by the US, where the economy is strengthening. It also predicts that global life insurance premiums will improve over the next few years, driven by strong growth in China.
The annually published “world insurance” sigma report on premium volumes and growth trends reveals that the expansion of global premiums has slowed to 1.5% from 2.2% in 2016. Global life premiums increased to roughly USD 2.7 trillion in 2017, while global non-life premiums rose to approximately USD 2.2 trillion. Growth in both the life and non-life sectors slowed.
Falling life premiums in advanced markets such as the US or Western Europe were the main cause of drag on life premium growth. Slower, but still solid growth in emerging markets led to the slowdown in the non-life sector.
Nevertheless, emerging markets, especially China, remain an important driver of global premium growth. China continued to be among the world’s fastest growing insurance markets, particularly in life.
