This chapter evaluates the underwriting performance of the non-life sector in 2024. It analyses the growth of premiums and gross claims payments. It then looks at the underwriting performance of insurers by examining their combined ratio. It shows that underwriting profitability in the non-life sector strengthened in 2024 as premiums continued to grow faster than claims. The underwriting performance of key global reinsurers also improved.
Global Insurance Market Trends 2025
Abstract
The non-life sector continued to experience solid premium growth in 2024, although it remained below the level of growth seen in 2023. Gross premiums written in the non-life sector increased in most reporting jurisdictions in both nominal and real terms in 2024 (Figure 2.1). On average, gross premiums written grew by 8.2% in nominal terms and 4.2% in real terms, below the growth rates experienced in 2023, when premiums grew 12.4% on average in nominal terms, and 6.2% in real terms.
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics
The growth in non-life premium varied across jurisdictions in 2024. For instance, the nominal premium growth rates ranged from -23.1% in Ireland to 74.1% in Türkiye across reporting jurisdictions. The real premium growth was also highest in Türkiye, at 20.6%, and lowest in Ireland, at -24.2%.
The growth of non-life premiums can reflect an increase in the prices of insurance policies, an increase in the quantity of insurance policies sold, or both. The large increases in insurance policy rates witnessed in 2023 continued in 2024, with price rises in most OECD countries and across all the main classes of insurance (Figure 2.2), often exceeding inflation rates.
In per cent
Source: National statistical offices
The increase in insurance policy prices was largely driven by the continued impact of inflation. Inflation began to increase in 2021, peaked in 2022, and then eased in 2023. The rise in inflation resulted in a significant increase in claim costs across various lines of business, which insurers partially transferred to customers by implementing higher policy prices through later policy renewals (OECD, 2024[3]). For instance, in Latvia, the higher costs of medical products and hospital and health services due to inflation put upward pressure on health insurance premiums. In Sweden, claims inflation, particularly in property and business insurance, was one of the main drivers behind the premium growth, as insurers responded to rising claims costs. Likewise, the United Kingdom reported that the increased premium rates seen in 2024 were largely driven by insurers responding to increased claims costs.
The continued impact of inflation may have also resulted in increases in insured values, leading to higher policy prices. For example, in Poland, the most significant increase in premium growth was recorded in Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) Insurance and motor casco insurance, in particular due to an increase in the value of vehicles, translating into higher sums insured and an increase in premiums on average.
Inflation may have impacted policy prices in different ways, apart from claims costs and sums insured. High inflation might increase the operational expenses of insurance companies, such as rent and salaries. This might result in higher insurance policy prices insofar as insurers pass operating cost increases on to their clients. Also, premium rates may have increased due to insurers seeking to catch up with the increases in general price levels. Austria reported that the increase for non-life and health insurance premiums can partially be explained by lagged inflation adjustments. In Belgium, the slight increase in non-life premiums was partly due to premia inflation for some lines of business where premia are computed based on indices that are sensitive to inflation.
Increases in reinsurance pricing might have affected the insurance policy prices. Reinsurance prices rose significantly in 2023 due to both inflationary effects and more frequent and costlier natural hazards (OECD, 2024[3]). Insurers might have reflected this increase in insurance policy rates in 2024. For instance, Australia reported that the increase in premiums reflected insurers passing on higher claim costs and reinsurance expenses of recent years to policyholders. Ecuador noted that increased premiums were driven by disaster events and reinsurance market dynamics.
Premium growth might also have been affected by increased sales of non-life insurance policies. For example, in Mexico, both auto and health insurance recorded growth in policies sold, reflecting a rise in new vehicle sales and demand for medical health prevention services. Similarly, Nicaragua experienced a notable rise in car insurance premiums, driven by a sustained recovery in new vehicle sales. In Hungary and Croatia, premium growth was supported by an increase in the number of issued policies.
General macroeconomic trends also played a key role. For instance, in Peru, new construction, mining and irrigation projects stimulated insurance demand. In Paraguay, favourable economic conditions and improved purchasing power encouraged both households and businesses to expand insurance coverage, contributing to premium growth across multiple lines. Growing risk awareness also reportedly had positive impact. For instance, Sweden reported that one of the main drivers in premium growth was higher demand for health and cyber-risk insurance as both households and businesses became more risk aware.
By contrast, some other factors accounted for a reduction in premiums written in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Slovenia, the significant decrease in non-life premiums can largely be attributed to the termination of supplementary health insurance, which took effect at the end of 2023. In Ireland, the reductions in non-life direct premiums can be attributed to a transfer of international business out of the country.
The non-life insurance sector witnessed lower growth in claims in 2024. Gross claims payments in the non-life sector grew by 7.5% on average in nominal terms in 2024 (Figure 2.3), significantly below the nominal growth rate of 12.4% in 2023 (OECD, 2024[3]). The real growth in gross claims payments in the non-life sector, at 3.5%, was also notably lower in 2024 than in 2023, at 10.1%. The growth in non-life insurance claims varied across the jurisdictions in 2024. For instance, the nominal growth rates in claims ranged from -48.4% in Slovenia to 247% in Argentina across reporting jurisdictions.
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics
The growth in claims payments in 2024 was the result of factors such as the number of insurance policies, natural hazard events, inflation dynamics and changes in claim frequency and severity. While catastrophe events and lingering inflation kept claims elevated in several jurisdictions, easing inflation and the normalisation of claims payments in other jurisdictions alleviated pressure on claims costs in 2024.
Changes in the number of insurance policies impacted both the number of claims made and the total payments by insurers. For instance, as observed in the motor vehicle insurance sector of Mexico and Nicaragua, an increase in the number of insurance policies led to a higher number of claims and thus claims payments. By contrast, Slovenia experienced a decline in claims payments following the termination of supplementary health insurance at the end of 2023.1 In Ireland, the large reduction in claims paid reflected the above-noted transfer of international business out of the country, which also reduced premiums written. Excluding these transfers, non-life premiums and claims showed modest growth.
Natural hazard events significantly increased claims paid in some jurisdictions. Such events resulted in insured losses worldwide amounting to USD 137 billion in 2024, surpassing the USD 115 billion recorded in 2023 (Swiss Re Institute, 2025[5]). Most of the losses resulted from secondary perils.2 For instance, Czechia recorded a 33.9% growth in claims paid in real terms primarily due to extraordinary natural events in 2024. In Norway, the storm ‘Ingunn’, heavy snow, lightning and several fires resulted in an increase in claims in the real estate and motor vehicle insurance lines of business. In Poland, one of the reasons for the increase in claims was the flood in southern Poland in September 2024. In Austria, the rise in non-life insurance claims was most pronounced in the third quarter of 2024, due to floods in Lower Austria and Vienna. By contrast, Greece, Panama and Uruguay saw lower claims as losses normalised after severe natural disaster events in 2023.
Easing inflation helped to moderate claims growth in 2024. Although inflation continued to drive claims costs upward, its decline helped ease overall pressure on insurers. Inflation fell and stood at 5.2% in the OECD, on average, which is 1.6 p.p. lower than in 2023 and 4 p.p. lower than in 2022 (OECD, 2025[6]). The moderation in inflation might have reduced repair, service and material costs that had previously inflated claims payments across multiple insurance lines, contributing to a slower average growth in claims paid.
Persistent inflationary effects and cost pressures still drove claim increases in several markets. Despite overall easing, inflation remained a dominant factor behind rising claims costs in many jurisdictions. Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Poland and Türkiye reported that continued inflationary pressures increased claims payments, particularly in motor and property insurance. In these countries, higher repair, spare part and claims handling costs may have driven up claim payments. A similar upward trend in cost drivers was reported in the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic and the United Kingdom where price pressures continued to increase claims payments.
Claim frequency and severity trends further influenced claim payments in some jurisdictions. For instance, Costa Rica experienced increases in claims for vehicle, health, pecuniary losses and mandatory branches due to the rising frequency and severity of traffic and occupational accidents. Paraguay reported that the growth in automobile insurance claims remains above 50% due to a surge in new vehicle purchases; more cars on the road led to an increased risk of accidents. Lithuania and Nicaragua saw increases in claims payments in motor insurance due to more frequent claims. By contrast, Panama, Sweden and Uruguay observed declines or stabilisation in claims as claim numbers normalised and no major loss events occurred in 2024.
The increase in premiums exceeded the rise in claims payments within the non-life sector, supporting the underwriting profits that insurers recorded in nearly all reporting jurisdictions in 2024. The combined ratio was below 100% in all reporting jurisdictions, except for Colombia, indicating underwriting profit for non-life insurance sector in these jurisdictions (Figure 2.4).3 Reflective of the growth trends in premiums and claims, underwriting profitability improved in 2024 relative to 2023 in 72% of the reporting jurisdictions (23 out of 32). The combined ratio improved the most in Türkiye by 33 percentage points (p.p.). Italy, Slovenia and Chinese Taipei also experienced significant improvement in the combined ratio by between 13 and 14 p.p.4 In contrast, the combined ratio deteriorated the most in Honduras, rising by 9 p.p. Luxembourg, Hungary and the Slovak Republic also had a notable deterioration in the non-life combined ratio, increasing by around 6.5 p.p.
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Denmark); MNB (Hungary); IVASS (Italy); KNF (Poland); ASF (Portugal); ISA (Slovenia); FINMA (Switzerland); NAIC (United States); answers to the qualitative questionnaire of the OECD Global Insurance Statistics exercise (all other jurisdictions)
Underwriting results differed among various lines of business in 2024. For example, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) reported that a heterogeneous trend on underwriting profitability was observed across different lines of business in the European Economic Area (EIOPA, 2025[7]). The combined ratio deteriorated for general liability by +5.5 p.p., for credit and suretyship by +4.5 p.p. and for legal expenses by +4.2 p.p., while it improved for other motor by -5.1 p.p. and for fire and other by -4.2 p.p. (EIOPA, 2025[7]). In Nicaragua, performance across non-life insurance classes was uneven in 2024; while the loss ratio for motor vehicle insurance experienced a slight upward pressure due to higher claims frequency, other lines such as fire and allied perils and personal accident insurance exhibited lower loss ratios, positively contributing to underwriting profitability. In Chinese Taipei, the loss ratio for health insurance improved significantly in 2024, mainly due to a sharp decrease in net changes in claims and reserves related to pandemic insurance; however, the loss ratio for catastrophe insurance deteriorated primarily due to the Hualien earthquake and typhoons, negatively impacting underwriting results. In Costa Rica, the combined ratio for the health, fire and mandatory occupational risk insurance lines exceeded 100%, representing underwriting losses for these lines in 2024; however, the combined ratio for other business lines such as motor vehicle insurance and other property damages was lower than 100%.
The improvement in underwriting profitability in 2024 was mainly driven by lower claims payments and/or higher premiums, alongside effective cost management in certain countries. For instance, in Colombia and Greece, the improvement was primarily the result of a reduction in claims payments. In Ireland and Peru, underwriting results improved as premium growth outpaced increases in claims payments and expenses. Paraguay also benefited from a drop in the loss ratio as premium growth was higher than claims payments growth. In Slovenia, the non-life insurance sector recorded a significant improvement in loss and combined ratios, largely due to the termination of supplementary health insurance at the end of 2023 and the absence of major disaster events during the year.
Underwriting profitability deteriorated however in several jurisdictions, mainly due to a higher loss ratio. For instance, in Poland, the deterioration was mainly driven by underwriting results in motor third-party liability (MTPL) and property insurance which covers natural hazard disasters and other property risks. MTPL faced higher loss ratios from rising claim costs, while numerous natural disaster events negatively affected the loss ratio for natural disaster and other property insurance. In the Slovak Republic, the deterioration resulted from insurance claims growing faster than premiums. Similarly, in Czechia, higher claim costs arising from natural hazard events led to an increased loss ratio and weaker underwriting performance.
Positive underwriting performance in the non-life sector and lower retention ratios supported reinsurer profitability. The retention ratio represents the percentage of premiums – and therefore risk – that insurers keep instead of passing on to reinsurers. The retention ratio decreased in 2024 in more than half of the jurisdictions (26 out of 44 reporting jurisdictions) (Figure 2.5). The decrease in retention ratio was more significant in some jurisdictions such as Slovenia (-4.9 p.p.), Chile (-2.4 p.p.), Nicaragua (-1.3 p.p.), Chinese Taipei (-1.3 p.p.) and Germany (-1.3 p.p.), and tended to be marginal in the others. Lower retention by cedents means reinsurers are taking on more premium volume and more exposure; insofar as claims remain moderate, this leads to favourable underwriting results for reinsurers, as seen in 2024.
In per cent
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics
The combined ratio of reinsurers improved in many cases in 2024. For instance, the “big four’’ European reinsurers (Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, SCOR) collectively reported a combined ratio of about 86.4% in their non-life business in 2024 under IFRS 17 reporting (Fitch Ratings, 2025[8]). This was a 1 p.p. improvement from 2023, attributed to sustained market pricing and the absence of large losses (Fitch Ratings, 2025[8]). Gallagher Re’s analysis of a subset of 16 reinsurers shows that the reported combined ratio further improved to 86.8% in 2024, from 87.3% in 2023 (Gallagher Re, 2025[9]). This improvement was mainly driven by lower attritional losses.5 However, some reinsurers experienced a deterioration in their combined ratio; for instance, Llyod`s had a combined ratio around 86.9%, up from 84.0% in 2023, driven by major claims (Lloyd`s, 2025[10]).
Positive underwriting performance in the direct insurance sector might create a virtuous circle from the perspective of reinsurers (Figure 2.6). Such performance might support the reinsurance underwriting profitability. When reinsurance is profitable, reinsurers can afford to accept more risk at lower prices, reducing the cost of direct insurers to cede the risk. Additionally, direct insurers can write more policies since they can transfer risk cheaply. This might lead to further improvement in the underwriting results of the insurance sector.
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD
← 1. As a result of this reform, one of the two specialised insurers ceased operations at the beginning of 2024 and the remaining specialised insurer shifted its focus towards the marketing of accident and other health insurance products.
← 2. I.e. small to mid-sized loss events as opposed to primary perils that are rarer but entail larger losses.
← 3. The combined ratio measures the underwriting profitability of insurance companies in the non-life sector on their direct business. It is the aggregate of the loss ratio (which measures claims paid and changes in claims provisions relative to gross premiums) and expense ratio (which measures expenses incurred and commissions relative to gross premiums). Thus, a combined ratio of less than 100% represents an underwriting profit (also called technical profits) for a non-life insurer. It should be noted that an underwriting profit does not indicate an overall profit, as these profits can be offset by investment loss.
← 4. The combined ratio decreased by 13.9 p.p. in Italy, 13.5 p.p. in Slovenia and 13 p.p. in Chinese Taipei.
← 5. Losses other than those related to major catastrophic events or exposures. These are mainly small losses with high frequency and low severity.