Annual Insurance Performance Index

Global insurers entered a more disciplined phase in 2025, with profitability improving despite moderating premium growth. Pricing adequacy, tighter underwriting, cost efficiency, and sustained reinsurance use emerged as the industry’s key performance drivers.

Global insurers entered 2025 with a stronger focus on profitable growth rather than expansion at any cost. While gross written premiums rose 7% to approximately USD 573 Bn, the more significant development was the improvement in underlying performance, driven by disciplined pricing, tighter underwriting, and better cost control.

Property and Casualty remained the industry’s largest segment, accounting for nearly 89% of premiums. Despite elevated catastrophe losses and claims inflation, repricing, stricter risk selection, and sustained reinsurance use helped improve the segment’s combined ratio to approximately 98%. Life and Health insurers recorded an even sharper recovery, with combined ratios falling to around 81% as product repricing, claims management, and operating efficiencies offset rising healthcare costs. Multi-line insurers also remained profitable, supported by diversified portfolios and scale benefits.

Reinsurance continued to play a central role in protecting capital and stabilizing earnings, with around USD 160 Bn in premiums ceded in 2025. As the industry moves beyond the post-pandemic recovery phase, performance will increasingly depend on pricing adequacy, underwriting discipline, automation, cost efficiency, and effective risk transfer rather than premium volume alone.