Asia, Life Insurers Are Big Gainers Among Top 25 Largest Insurers
December 23, 2016 by David Pilla
OLDWICK, N.J. – Insurers in Japan and China were among the biggest gainers in terms of premiums while life and multiple-line insurers led gains by assets as A.M. Best released its list of the world’s largest 25 insurers based on 2015 data.
A.M. Best’s annual rankings found stability at the top, as the top five insurers by both premiums and assets for 2015 remained in the same positions as in the previous year.
Ranking by Premiums
No. 1 UnitedHealth Group Inc. had $127.16 billion in 2015 earned premiums. By net premiums written, Axa SA came in second with $94.96 billion; followed by Allianz SE with $77.79 billion; Assicurazioni Generali SpA with $74.79 billion; and Anthem Inc., with $73.05 billion.
All of the top five insurers by premium saw growth. Among the biggest movers by percent change (based on local currency) in NPW was Japan’s MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., which saw its NPW rise 21.15%. This allowed MS&AD to break into the top 25 at No. 22.
MS&AD had reported a 33.2% surge in net income for the 2015 fiscal year on increased profit in its domestic life companies (Best’s News Service, May 23, 2016). The group’s nonlife companies and overseas subsidiaries posted a fall in 2015 profit. In Japan, MS&AD noted in its earnings report that “the recovery of consumer spending and capital expenditures has been sluggish despite some indications of improvement in corporate earnings centered on the employment and income environment and non-manufacturing industries.”
NPW for Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. rose 19.57% as the Chinese multiple-line insurer rose from 14th to 10th in the ranking.
Ping An’s 2015 net profit rose 38% as the group noted strengthening financial services offerings and progress made in technology-related insurance and financial services (Best’s News Service, March 15, 2016). Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mingzhe Ma said in a letter to shareholders in the company’s annual report that Ping An continues to pursue its “one customer account, multiple services and multiple products” strategy while grappling with a “new normal” in terms of slower economic growth in both China and worldwide. Ma also noted regulatory reform in China has helped the business prospects of the group.
The Shenzhen-based multiple-line insurer said 2015 life insurance written premiums rose 18.6% and property/casualty premium income rose 14.5%.
Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Co. saw its NPW rise 16.59% as the insurer rose from 19th to ninth place. U.S. health insurer Humana Inc. rose 14.03% (by earned premiums) as its rank advanced from 17th to 16th, and People’s Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd.’s NPW rose 12.88%, while its rank fell from No. 11 to No. 12.
Among four insurers that saw their NPW fall in 2015, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd.’s premiums fell 11.83% as the group’s rank slipped from No. 15 to No. 19. For Japan Post Insurance Co. Ltd., NPW fell 9.24% as its position slipped from 13th to 18th.
NPW for No. 23 MetLife Inc. and No. 24 American International Group Inc. fell 1.34% and 0.83%, respectively.
Ranking by Assets
In terms of 2015 assets, Axa was top with $921.36 billion, followed by Allianz, with $885.12 billion; MetLife Inc., with $877.93 billion; Prudential Financial Inc., with $757.39 billion; and Japan Post, with $724.92 billion.
Axa and Allianz both saw their 2015 assets rise while MetLife, Prudential Financial and Japan Post all recorded slight drop-offs.
Axa SA has seen strong growth and good underwriting results in all of its major lines of business and nearly all regions worldwide in 2015, even as economic conditions continue to challenge financial markets, then-CEO Henri de Castries said when Axa released its 2015 results (Best’s News Service, Feb. 25, 2016).
“The economic conditions have been pretty adverse but in spite of that we have been hitting all of our targets,” said de Castries at the time. He added Axa has been increasing its presence in developing markets and Asia. He also noted Axa has been “selectively” investing in developed markets where the group still sees “room for progress.”
The biggest gainer in terms of 2015 assets (in local currency) was Aviva plc, up 35.75% as the U.K.-based group rose from 17th to eighth place. Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp. moved from No. 13 to No. 12 as its assets rose 21.61%.
Aviva reported a 20% increase in operating profit in 2015, as strong life performance offset lower nonlife operating profit (Best’s News Service, March 10, 2016). CEO Mark Wilson said at the time “we see a trend of stability and growth amongst a backdrop of market volatility, foreign exchange headwinds and some of the worst floods we’ve seen here in the U.K. in the last hundred years.”
For Manulife, assets rose despite a 37% fall in 2015 net income as total revenue was hit by reinsurance on a closed block of policies and lower by U.S. sales. Plunging worldwide energy markets were a drag on Manulife, as they “diminished an otherwise great year and caused disappointing net income,” according to President and CEO Donald Guloien (Best’s News Service, Feb. 11, 2016).
“There’s a lot of volatility that frankly I don’t understand,” Guloien said at the time of worldwide economic conditions. He said the economies in the United States, China and India are going “pretty well” while Europe and Japan “have challenges.”
“Our insurance business in China is up 35%,” he had said, “and our mutual fund flows are well over 100%. So when I read about China’s economy slowing to a halt I find it hard to relate to.”
Rounding out the top five gainers are China’s Ping An, which went from 21st to 19th place as assets rose 20.10%; Nippon Life of Japan, moving from No. 10 to No. 6 as assets rose 12.70%; and China Life, up 10.24% as it moved from 16th to 15th place.
(By David Pilla, news editor, BestWeek: David.Pilla@ambest.com)
