Top 20 insurance companies witness revival in 2021

Written by Adam Cadle

06/07/2022

The average revenue growth of the top 20 global public insurance companies by revenue in 2021 stood at 9.5% while the total premiums earned growth rate was 8%, according to GlobalData research.

Of the top 20, a total of 16 companies reported year-on-year revenue growth in 2021, with the most notable performers being CNP Assurances, Prudential Financial, Assicurazioni Generali, and Zurich Insurance.

CNP Assurances’ 30.8% revenue growth was attributable to the 14.5% growth in its premiums earned and substantial growth in fair value of financial assets at fair value through profit. The company’s value of insurance contracts grew by 18.9% to €27.5bn, which was bolstered by a 21.2% rise in life contracts.

Prudential Financial benefited from an investment gain of $4bn, against an investment loss of $3.9bn in the previous year. The company also reported an improvement of 5.3% in its net investment income.

Assicurazioni Generali’s total premiums earned grew by 14.5% on account of an increase in life insurance premiums. In addition, the company also registered massive growth in its investment gains over the previous year, which enabled a 22.3% rise in its revenue growth.

Zurich Insurance’s 19.2% revenue growth was attributable to an 8.3% rise in earned premiums, reaching $44.3 billion. The company’s growth was also bolstered by a 58.2% rise in net investment income on account of a 94.7% improvement in investment gains on unit-linked products.

Some of the biggest losses in revenue were seen by Japan Post Insurance and Legal & General. These companies reported an 11.6% and 9.9% respective decline in their earned premiums, which caused revenue decline. Legal & General derives around 80% of its revenue from investment income, and this dropped by 8.3% y-o-y in 2021.

Parth Vala, company profiles analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Premiums earned and extremely bullish global stock markets in 2021 helped insurance companies record substantial investment gains and achieve growth in investment incomes.”

However, Vala added: “With the global economy on tenterhooks following rapidly changing geopolitical scenarios and the potential threat of new variants of COVID-19, the upcoming months are likely to pose further challenges to the insurance industry.”

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