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Insurance is a cornerstone of modern lives and economies. Without it, many aspects of today’s society could not function. This publication shows the size and strength of Europe’s insurers and demonstrates their dual role as providers of protection and long-term savings products and as long-term, stable investors underpinning the economy.
The report sets out data on the European insurance industry’s property & casualty, life and health premiums, together with the related benefits and claims paid. It also contains figures for the industry’s investment portfolio, as well as information on the sector’s structure. A more extensive dataset is available free of charge on Insurance Europe’s website at www.insuranceeurope.eu.
In 2017, Europe’s insurers generated total premium income of €1 213bn and had €10 226bn invested in the economy. Insurers paid out the equivalent of €2.8bn a day in claims to help businesses and individuals through difficult events and in benefits to long-term savers.
Life premiums increased 5% year-on-year in 2017, albeit with significant differences between individual countries. Meanwhile the premiums in most P&C business lines — which are more affected
by levels of economic activity — increased by 4.4%. Health insurance premiums rose 4%. In total, premium income registered solid growth of 4.7%.
These results were against the background of a clearly improving economic environment and well-performing financial markets. The EU economy grew 2.4% — its fastest pace since the financial crisis — while the US economy grew only slightly less (2.3%) and the Chinese economy grew 6.9%. Ongoing low interest rates, however, continue to create a challenging environment for insurers in terms of providing long-term savings products.
Insurance Europe is committed to working with European and global policymakers, regulators and supervisors to ensure that Europe’s insurers have a regulatory framework in which they can continue to innovate and thrive. Only then can they help their policyholders meet the many and evolving challenges in today’s uncertain world.