Europeans spending more on insurance: Insurance Europe

Europeans are spending more on insurance, according to the latest key facts publication from trade body Insurance Europe (IE).

IE said that total European direct gross written premiums amounted to €1,311 billion in 2018, made up of €764 billion of life premiums, €407 billion of property and casualty (P&C) premiums and €140 billion of health premiums. Total premiums increased 6.2 percent on 2017, with life premiums growing 6.7 percent, P&C 5.7 percent and health 4.8 percent.

The increase in life insurance largely reflected “double-digit growth in the UK, the largest life insurance market in Europe,” said IE.

After a strong 17.3 percent increase in 2016, traditional life insurance contracts remained fairly stable in 2017, the latest year for which a breakdown is available. They accounted for 75.2 percent of life premiums. Meanwhile unit-linked contracts2 recorded a 5.2 percent decline in 2017. As a result, their share of total life premiums decreased one percentage point to 24.8 percent.

Motor insurance was the largest P&C business line in 2018, accounting for 35% of premiums. Motor premiums grew 3.8 percent in 2018 to €144 billion. Property insurance, accounting for 26 percent of P&C, grew 4.8 percent to €105 billion. General liability premiums increased 6.9 percent to €43 billion and accident premiums increased 2.5 percent to €37 billion.

Insurance penetration - gross written premiums as a percentage of GDP - increased by 0.21 of a percentage point to 7.46 percent and ranged from 0.5 percent in Liechtenstein to 14.3 percent in the UK.

European insurers paid out €1 069 billion in claims and benefits to insureds in 2018, a 3.1 percent increase on 2017. Life insurers paid out €705 billion - a 2.6 percent increase - in benefits to insureds, providing them with capital and/or annuities. P&C claims paid increased 5.6 percent to €253 billion and health claims paid increased 4 percent to €111 billion.

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