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📈 '''Gross written premiums''' (often abbreviated GWP) is the total amount of [[Definition:Premium | premium]] an insurer or [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurer]] records on all [[Definition:Policy | policies]] issued or renewed during a given period, before any deductions for [[Definition:Ceded reinsurance | reinsurance ceded]], [[Definition:Commission | commissions]], or other adjustments. As the top-line revenue metric of the insurance industry, GWP captures the full scale of risk an organization has committed to underwrite and is universally used — from the smallest [[Definition:Managing general agent (MGA) | MGA]] to the largest global composite insurer — to measure market share, growth trajectory, and competitive positioning.

⚙️ GWP is recorded at the point a [[Definition:Policy | policy]] is bound or a [[Definition:Reinsurance treaty | treaty]] incepts, regardless of when the premium is actually collected in cash. This means GWP includes premiums on policies where the coverage period extends well into the future, and the corresponding [[Definition:Unearned premium reserve | unearned premium reserve]] will be established to match the liability. Subtracting [[Definition:Ceded reinsurance | ceded premiums]] from GWP yields [[Definition:Net written premiums | net written premiums]], which reflects the premium the insurer retains for its own account. Further adjusting for the change in unearned premiums produces [[Definition:Net earned premiums | net earned premiums]] — the denominator used in calculating the [[Definition:Loss ratio | loss ratio]] and [[Definition:Combined ratio | combined ratio]]. Regulatory filings worldwide — whether submitted to the [[Definition:National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) | NAIC]] in the United States, the [[Definition:Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) | PRA]] in the United Kingdom, or [[Definition:Insurance regulator | supervisory authorities]] across Asia and Europe — prominently feature GWP as a primary measure of an insurer's business volume.

🌍 Beyond regulatory reporting, GWP is the common currency for benchmarking across the global insurance landscape. [[Definition:Rating agency | Rating agencies]], [[Definition:Investor | investors]], and industry bodies such as [[Definition:Swiss Re Institute | Swiss Re Institute]] use GWP to rank carriers, track market concentration, and assess sector-level growth. However, GWP alone can be misleading without context: a company that writes large volumes but cedes most of the risk may have impressive GWP but modest [[Definition:Net written premiums | net retention]], while another with lower GWP may retain substantially more risk and generate higher underwriting margins. For [[Definition:Insurtech | insurtech]] companies and [[Definition:Program administrator | program administrators]] operating under [[Definition:Delegated underwriting authority (DUA) | delegated authority]], the GWP they place on behalf of [[Definition:Insurance carrier | capacity providers]] is a key performance metric — even though the balance sheet liability ultimately rests with the carrier. Understanding GWP in relation to net premiums, [[Definition:Earned premium | earned premiums]], and [[Definition:Capital | capital]] deployed gives a far richer picture of an insurance operation's true economic footprint.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Net written premiums]]
* [[Definition:Net earned premiums]]
* [[Definition:Ceded reinsurance]]
* [[Definition:Unearned premium reserve]]
* [[Definition:Combined ratio]]
* [[Definition:Loss ratio]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Gross written premiums - Revision history

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