Leading non-life European insurers saw 13.4% growth in premium last year
AXA, Allianz and Generali top 2022 ranking
The top 15 European insurance groups in Mapfre’s 2022 Ranking of the Largest European Insurance Groups boosted their premium income by 7.7% in 2022 to €618.7bn. On the non-life side, the leading 15 European insurance groups saw 13.4% growth, while on the life side there was a 0.1% decline in premium income.
However, in terms of results, Mapfre said inflation, the high catastrophic loss ratio and volatility in the financial markets are all factors that influenced a 9.6% decrease in results, with an overall decline in the combined ratio of the non-life insurance groups.
The highest growth in premium income, 46.2%, was recorded by France’s Aéma Groupe, which began operations in 2021, based largely on changes in the consolidation perimeter due to the inclusion of the Abeille Assurances subgroup for a full year. Other groups achieving double-digit premium growth were Zurich (+18.6%), Talanx (+17.4%), Covéa (+14.8%), CNP (+13.7%) and Mapfre (+10.8%).
The top ten European insurance groups in 2022 based on premium income are:
- AXA – €99,415m
- Allianz – €94,190m
- General – €81,538
- Talanx – €53,431m
- Zurich – €53,367m
- CNP – €36,002m
- Crédit Agricole Assurance – €35,328m
- BNP Paribas Cardif – €25,272m
- Mapfre – €24,540m
- Aviva – €22,197m
Source: Mapfre
Insurance groups AXA, Allianz, and Generali continued to lead this ranking, said Mapfre, accounting for 44.0% of aggregate premiums in 2022.
AXA saw gross premium volume in 2022 up 2.7% from 2021. Mapfe said its main drivers included the property & casualty segment, both commercial and personal lines, “due to the favourable effect of prices and higher volumes, and the health line of business, but partially offset by decreases in AXA XL Reinsurance, in life and savings, with lower revenue from ‘General Account Savings’ products, mainly in France, Italy and Japan, as well as from unit-linked products.”
In second place, Allianz saw premium income grow by 9.4% over 2021, largely driven by the property & casualty segment, due to strong price and volume effects. Revenue dropped in the life and health business due to a decrease in legal premiums, mainly related to lower sales of unit-linked products in Italy and in single-premium businesses in Germany, said Mapfre.
In the last decade, since 2012, the premiums of the groups making up the 2022 ranking have increased by 33.4% (€154.76bn), with an annual average growth of 3.0%.
“Talanx’s growth was significant thanks to the robust performance of its reinsurance business, which allowed it to double its premium volume in the last decade. Also, the performance of Italian group Poste Vita continued to be worth particular note, with premiums experiencing 66.7% growth since 2012. The only group with lower income than in 2012 was Aviva, with a 20.8% decrease in premiums compared to that year,” said Mapfre.
