topic: Global insurance markets
year: 2024
source: Activity report - Full Year 2024
markets:
- region: France
segments:
- name: Savings insurance
performance:
premium_growth_yoy: +14%
total_premiums_eur_bn: 173
sub_products:
- name: Unit-linked
growth_yoy: +8%
share_of_total: 38% # down from 40% in 2023
- name: General Account
growth_yoy: +17%
notes:
- Saving ratio increased amid economic, fiscal, and political uncertainty.
- Stagnant real estate market supported net flows into Life insurance.
- Surrenders decreased in General Account funds despite Livret A rate held at 3%.
- Surrenders increased in Unit-linked products, partially offsetting the GA decrease.
- name: Protection and Complementary Health insurance
notes:
- Medical inflation partly absorbed via average tariff increase of 8% in 2024.
- Cost and frequency of claims both rose.
- Political uncertainty around the Sécurité Sociale budget may drive further tariff increases as state reimbursement share decreases.
- name: Property & Casualty
notes:
- Motor claims rose due to driver behavior and higher repair costs.
natural_catastrophes:
- event: Cyclone Belal (overseas)
estimated_cost_eur_bn: 0.1
- event: Cyclone Chido (overseas)
estimated_cost_eur_bn_range: [0.65, 0.8]
- event: Floods (including Kirk depression)
estimated_cost_eur_bn_range: [0.35, 0.42]
- region: Europe (excluding France)
segments:
- name: Property & Casualty
notes:
- Faced rising repair costs amid persistent but moderating inflation.
- Evolving risks including climate change.
- Multiple but less severe weather events, mainly hailstorms and floods across most geographies.
- Insurers responding via pricing measures, product reshaping, and updated risk management practices.
- name: Life and Savings
notes:
- Recovering from last year's challenging macroeconomic environment.
- Still affected by modest growth and economic/political uncertainties.
- name: Health
notes:
- Private insurers facing ageing population, claims cost inflation, and strains on national healthcare systems.
- Implementing progressive price increases.
- Focusing on digital transformation, including care pathway management and wellness benefits.
- region: Japan
segments:
- name: Life insurance
performance:
gwp_growth_yoy: +5%
notes:
- Growth driven by strong sales of traditional General Account Savings products.
- Higher guarantees offered as a result of rising Japanese interest rates.
- Major insurers' net income boosted by favorable Japanese equity market performance.
- name: Property & Casualty
performance:
gwp_growth_yoy: +3%
notes:
- Driven by price increases in Motor and Fire insurance.
- region: Hong Kong
segments:
- name: Life insurance
performance:
gwp_growth_yoy: +8%
new_business_growth_yoy: +16%
notes:
- New business growth derived from non-Linked individual business.
- Mainland China Visitors new business slightly decreased vs. 2023.
- Mainland China Visitors represented 28% of total Individual business.
- name: Property & Casualty
notes:
- Market remained stable.
- region: United States
segments:
- name: Property insurance
notes:
- Rates rose, though at a slower pace than prior years.
- Strict underwriting across capacity deployment, risk selection, and terms and conditions.
- Adversely impacted by increased frequency of Nat Cat events, particularly secondary perils.
- Rising reinsurance costs and economic inflation drove up construction costs.
- name: Casualty insurance
notes:
- Continues to experience rate increases due to loss trends.
- Elevated casualty claims from social inflation have impacted underwriting margins and reserves.
- region: Global
segments:
- name: Reinsurance
notes:
- Market remains well-capitalized; companies successfully raised capital to support growth.
- Property reinsurance saw increased rates and attachment points, improving margins.
- Realignment of property catastrophe risk allowed reinsurers to limit losses despite active weather patterns.
- Strong underwriting performance and improved investment returns helped mitigate adverse prior-year reserve development in US casualty business.
