Definition:Gross written premiums
| Gross written premiums | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | GWP |
| Category | kpis; volume |
| Aliases | gross premiums written; gross written premium |
| Metric id | gross_written_premium |
| Unit | currency |
| Related terms | Net written premiums, Insurance revenue, Gross written premiums & other revenues |
| Definition | Total premiums written, gross of reinsurance. |
đ Gross written premiums is the total premium an insurer contracts for during a reporting period. The measure deducts nothing: premium ceded to reinsurers stays in, and so does premium not yet earned over the coverage term. Commonly abbreviated GWP, and also reported as gross premiums written, it is the industry's most widely used volume measure: the full price of all the risk the company agreed to take on in the period, regardless of how much it keeps or when the coverage runs.
âď¸ A premium counts as written when the contract incepts or is booked, which makes GWP a point-of-sale measure rather than a measure of coverage delivered. Two standard deductions turn GWP into related metrics: subtracting outward reinsurance gives net written premiums, and spreading premium over the policy period gives earned measures. Under IFRS 17, premiums no longer appear on the face of the income statement; insurance revenue took that role. IFRS reporters therefore disclose GWP as a supplementary KPI, while US statutory reporting and many local frameworks still build directly on written premiums. GWP is expressed in currency and anchors segment and market-share disclosures worldwide.
đ Most readers check GWP growth first in an insurer's results, because it blends pricing and exposure into a single top-line signal. Rising GWP can mean rate increases, new business, or both, and disclosures often decompose it accordingly. Regulators and analysts also use GWP to size markets and rank carriers, since it is available on a broadly consistent basis across jurisdictions. The limitation matters just as much: writing premium says nothing about profitability, so read GWP alongside retention and underwriting-result measures, never in isolation.