Total insurance penetration across jurisdictions in 2025 increased in both OECD and non-OECD jurisdictions. Penetration levels tend to be higher in higher-income jurisdictions, particularly in the life insurance sector. Trends in overall penetration reflected diverging developments in life and non-life insurance across jurisdictions.
Global Insurance Market Trends 2026
Abstract
In 2025, total insurance penetration increased to 6.6% of GDP in OECD countries, up from 6.2% in 2024, while it also increased in non-OECD reporting jurisdictions from 3.7% to 4.2% (Figure 1.1). In OECD countries, life insurance penetration increased slightly, from 3.5% to 3.8% and non-life insurance penetration remained stable at 2.8%. In non-OECD jurisdictions, the increase similarly reflected developments in life insurance, with life insurance penetration rising from 2.4% to 2.8%, while non-life insurance penetration remained stable at 1.4%.
Total gross premiums as a percentage of GDP
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
Insurance penetration has evolved differently in life and non-life insurance over the last decade. In OECD countries, life insurance penetration declined from approximately 4.0% of GDP in 2015 to 3.8% in 2025, while non-life insurance penetration increased modestly from 2.4% to 2.8% over the same period. In non-OECD reporting jurisdictions, life insurance penetration fluctuated between 1.9% and 3.1% of GDP over the period, and was 2.8% in 2025, while non-life insurance penetration declined from 1.8% to 1.4%.
Changes in overall insurance penetration reflected diverging trends in life and non-life insurance and across jurisdictions. Over the decade, developments in total penetration in OECD countries reflected rising non-life penetration alongside a modest decline in life penetration. In non-OECD reporting jurisdictions, life insurance penetration increased while non-life insurance penetration declined. The greater variation in life insurance penetration may, in part, reflect fluctuations in demand for investment-linked products, which represent a growing share of life insurance markets in many jurisdictions. Demand for investment-linked life insurance products can be impacted by changes in household saving behaviour, competition from the banking sector and developments in financial market conditions, given the sensitivity of this business to financial market developments (OECD, 2025[1]). Non-life insurance demand, by contrast, is more closely tied to the stock of insurable assets.
Insurance penetration varies across countries depending on their income level. In 2025, total insurance penetration reached 6.7% of GDP in reporting jurisdictions classified by the World Bank as “high income” countries (HIC), compared with 2.0% in jurisdictions classified as “upper middle income” (UMIC) and 0.7% in jurisdictions classified as “lower middle income” (LMIC). Much of this difference reflects the contribution of life insurance penetration, which in 2025, stood at 4.1% of GDP in high-income jurisdictions compared with 0.9% in upper-middle‑income and 0.2% in lower-middle‑income jurisdictions (Figure 1.2). This likely reflects the closer links between life insurance and long-term savings, which tend to be more developed in higher-income economies where households have greater financial capacity beyond immediate consumption needs (OECD, 2024[2]). Differences in life insurance penetration may also reflect differences in the structure of retirement provision. In countries where life insurers play a significant role in retirement systems, life insurance penetration is often higher.
Total gross premiums as a percentage of GDP
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
Countries with similar levels of total insurance penetration do not necessarily have similar splits between life and non-life insurance (Figure 1.3). The mix between life and non-life business reflects jurisdiction-specific factors such as retirement savings arrangements, the role of private health insurance, tax treatment and exposure to natural hazards, rather than the overall size of the insurance market. For example, France and the United States recorded insurance penetration levels of 11.6% and 13.1% of GDP respectively in 2025, but with very different market compositions. Life insurance accounted for 6.7% of GDP in France compared with 4.9% in the United States, while non-life insurance penetration was substantially higher in the United States (8.2%) than in France (4.9%). This likely reflects, in part, the larger role of private health insurance in the United States, among other factors.
Total gross premiums as a percentage of GDP
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
In most reporting jurisdictions, non-life insurance accounts for a larger share of total insurance activity than life insurance. However, in several jurisdictions, life insurance represents the larger share, including Chile, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In jurisdictions such as Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia and United States non-life insurance accounts for a very large share of total insurance activity, larger than the life sector. Differences across jurisdictions can reflect variations in retirement savings arrangements and social protection systems, including the role of private health insurance and investment-linked insurance products.