Non-life insurance markets continued to expand in 2025. Premium growth remained strong across most jurisdictions, supported largely by pricing adjustments in response to higher claims costs. Claims development varied across markets, reflecting differences in catastrophe experience as well as ongoing cost pressures in motor vehicle and health insurance. Despite these challenges, underwriting profitability remained positive in most jurisdictions, while reinsurance purchasing patterns changed only marginally despite softer reinsurance market conditions.
Global Insurance Market Trends 2026
Abstract
Non-life insurance premiums grew in 2025 at a slightly higher pace than in 2024 in nominal terms, while real growth moderated slightly. On average, non-life premiums increased by 8.7% in nominal terms and 4.1% in real terms in 2025, compared with 8.2% and 4.2%, respectively, in 2024 and 12.4% and 6.2% in 2023 (Figure 2.1). Positive nominal premium growth was recorded in 50 out of 53 jurisdictions in 2025, and positive real growth in 46 of them. Most jurisdictions recorded real premium growth between 2% and 8% while seven experienced a decline (Bolivia, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Paraguay, Peru and the United Kingdom).
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
Premium price increases were the most frequently cited driver of non-life premium growth in 2025. In many jurisdictions, insurers continued to increase premiums in response to higher claims costs, particularly in motor vehicle and health insurance. Non-life insurance contracts are usually renewed annually, so higher claims costs are reflected in premiums only gradually as contracts are renewed. As a result, part of the premium growth recorded in 2025 reflected catch-up pricing, as insurers continued to adjust premiums for claims cost increases from previous years. Insurers may also adjust premiums to reflect general inflationary trends. Finland, for example, reported that premium growth was driven mainly by price increases linked to inflation in earlier years. In some jurisdictions, competitive considerations and regulatory restrictions can limit the pace of adjustment.
Insurance premium rates increased in many jurisdictions, although trends varied across lines of business (Figure 2.2). Home insurance prices rose in several jurisdictions, including Türkiye (13.7%), France (12.6%), Norway (11.7%) and the United States (8.2%), while declines were recorded in the United Kingdom (‑15.9%), Germany (‑3.5%), Estonia (-2.7%), Italy (-0.6%) and Denmark (-0.1%). Health insurance prices also increased in most reporting jurisdictions, with the largest rises observed in Türkiye (47.1%), Norway (13.5%), Croatia (11.0%) and Spain (10.3%), while Colombia recorded a significant decline (‑21.3%). In motor vehicle insurance, prices increased in most reporting jurisdictions for which data are available, with particularly large increases in the Slovak Republic (18.8%), Germany (12.7%) and the Netherlands (10.2%), while declines were recorded in a few jurisdictions including Estonia (‑12.6%), Latvia (‑9.0%) and Israel (‑6.5%).
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: Eurostat and National Statistical Offices.
In some jurisdictions, growth in the number of policies sold also contributed to non-life premium growth in 2025. Motor vehicle insurance was a common source of volume growth: Croatia, Malaysia and Poland all reported increases in the number of insured vehicles or motor vehicle insurance contracts, with Malaysia linking this partly to higher vehicle sales. New insurance market entrants also played a role in some cases. Latvia reported that the entry of a new insurer led to higher policy volumes in the motor vehicle insurance market. Lithuania reported that medical expense insurance recorded the fastest growth rate among classes of insurance, reflecting broader demand for health insurance coverage.
Claims development was more uneven across reporting jurisdictions and grew at a slower rate overall than premium growth. Non-life claims payments increased by 7.9% in nominal terms and 3.1% in real terms in 2025 (Figure 2.3), broadly in line with the 3.5% real growth recorded in 2024. Behind this aggregate result, loss experience differed across markets.
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
Catastrophe experience was one factor behind differences across jurisdictions. Global insured losses from natural catastrophes totalled USD 107 billion in 2025, down from USD 137 billion in 2024, in line with the ten‑year average (Swiss Re Institute, 2026[3]). Many jurisdictions that had experienced large weather-related losses in 2024 recorded lower claims growth in 2025. Czechia reported that claims costs fell as losses returned to more typical levels following the severe flooding associated with Storm Boris in 2024. Austria similarly attributed lower non-life claims to the absence of major weather-related events during 2025. However, not all jurisdictions experienced a calmer catastrophe environment. Bulgaria reported multiple flood and storm events during the year, contributing to higher property insurance claims and overall claims growth.
In several jurisdictions, insurers continued to face rising claims costs in motor vehicle and health insurance as repair costs and medical expenses increased in 2025. For instance, Romania reported that repair cost inflation continued to push claims costs higher in motor vehicle insurance and that insurers implemented premium increases across most segments of the motor vehicle third-party liability market in response. Similar pressures were reported in a number of other jurisdictions, particularly in motor vehicle insurance, where changes in vehicle technology and repair practices have contributed to rising claims severity (Box 2.1).
Motor vehicle insurance was among the most frequently cited sources of claims cost pressure across reporting jurisdictions in 2025. Survey responses from several jurisdictions pointed to a common challenge: while advances in vehicle safety technology have contributed to a reduction in accident frequency in many markets, the cost of repairing damaged vehicles has increased significantly.
One reason is the growing use of advanced vehicle technology. Modern vehicles are increasingly equipped with cameras, sensors, radar systems and driver-assistance technologies that often require specialist repair and recalibration after even relatively minor accidents. As a result, claims costs may increase even when accident frequency remains stable or declines. In several jurisdictions, insurers reported that rising component prices and higher labour costs added further pressure to repair costs, contributing to higher claims severity and premium rates in 2025.
The increasing adoption of electric vehicles in some jurisdictions has also affected repair costs. Compared with conventional vehicles, electric vehicles often require specialised repair processes, additional safety measures and higher-cost replacement parts. Damage to battery systems can be particularly expensive and may result in a vehicle being written off rather than repaired. These factors have contributed to higher average repair costs and, in turn, increased claims severity in motor vehicle insurance. At the same time, research suggests that advances in crash-avoidance and driver-assistance technologies can reduce accident frequency in some markets, meaning that higher repair costs per claim may be partly offset by fewer claims overall (IIHS, 2025[4]).
Labour shortages are adding further pressure in many jurisdictions. Repairing and calibrating technologically advanced vehicles requires increasingly specialised skills and equipment, and repair times are often longer. Together, these developments may help explain why motor vehicle insurers in many jurisdictions continued to face upward pressure on claims costs in 2025.
Source: IIHS (2025[4]), Advanced driver assistance, https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/advanced-driver-assistance.
Health insurance was also cited as a source of premium and claims growth in 2025. The higher use of healthcare services and medical cost inflation were the most frequently cited drivers. For instance, the United States reported record-high healthcare utilisation alongside higher medical costs as key drivers of non-life insurer profitability pressures. Austria reported continued growth in health insurance claims, while Mexico identified medical inflation as a key factor behind overall claims development.
While healthcare utilisation has continued to increase in many jurisdictions, in part reflecting ageing populations and the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions, an increasing driver of growth in healthcare costs is the wider use of more expensive treatments and specialist care. Medical cost inflation has exceeded general inflation in many markets for several years (WTW, 2026[5]). A growing share of healthcare expenditure is associated with advanced diagnostics, specialist care and increasingly sophisticated treatments. Biologic medicines, targeted cancer therapies and other specialised treatments can improve patient outcomes considerably, but often at substantially higher cost than traditional therapies (OECD, 2025[6]). As a result, healthcare spending growth is increasingly influenced not only by the price of treatment but also by the growing use of more intensive and technologically advanced forms of care.
The combined ratio measures the relationship between premiums collected and claims and expenses paid. A ratio below 100% indicates that an insurer collected more in premiums than it paid out in claims and expenses. Combined ratios remained below 100% in 34 of 39 jurisdictions for which this indicator was available in 2025, compared with 32 of 34 in 2024 (Figure 2.4). In most jurisdictions, the combined ratio either improved or remained the same, continuing a trend witnessed in 2024.
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
In 2025, combined ratios exceeded 100% in Colombia (119.1%), Korea (110.1%), Argentina (106.8%), Finland (104.5%) and El Salvador (103.1%), reflecting a range of underlying pressures including higher claims frequency, rising acquisition costs and elevated loss ratios. A large number of jurisdictions reported combined ratios below 100% and improvements in underwriting performance relative to 2024, including: Slovenia: 88.7% to 72.6%; Nicaragua: 85.8% to 74.7%; Paraguay: 88.9% to 81.0%; Lithuania: 92.5% to 87.4%; and Norway: 90.0% to 85.0%. In other jurisdictions, such as Brazil and Bulgaria, underwriting profitability remained positive but weakened compared with 2024.
Underwriting performance deteriorated in many of the jurisdictions that faced stronger claims growth, while underwriting performance tended to improve in jurisdictions where claims growth moderated. In some markets, higher claims was the primary cause of worsening underwriting performance. For example, the non-life combined ratio increased from 76% to 82% in Bulgaria as flood and storm events drove property insurance claims higher. In other jurisdictions, operating and/or distribution cost pressures, rather than claims, was the main factor. For example, the combined ratio in Brazil rose from 74% to 88%, driven primarily by higher acquisition and operating expenses, with the loss ratio increasing only marginally.
Where combined ratios improved, the reasons also differed. In the Netherlands, lower claims costs, higher premium income and reduced operating expenses all contributed. In Italy, sustained premium adjustments returned motor vehicle third-party liability business to profitability. In Paraguay, the combined ratio declined to 81%, the fourth consecutive annual improvement since 2022, reflecting lower operating costs and greater use of reinsurance. In the United States, the combined ratio improved to 92.9%, the lowest level in more than a decade, as net losses incurred declined for the first time in over ten years, driven by lower property insurance claims and favourable prior year reserve development (NAIC, 2025[7]).
Global reinsurance capital reached a record high of USD 785 billion by the end of 2025, supported by several years of strong profitability and retained earnings (Aon, 2026[8]). Catastrophe bond issuance (debt instruments through which insurers and reinsurers transfer risk to capital market investors) reached a record of USD 25.6 billion in 2025, a 45% increase over the previous year (Gallagher Re, 2026[9]), which also contributed to the increase in global reinsurance capital. Major reinsurers had a profitable year in 2025, with return on equity averaging approximately 19% across the sector for the third consecutive year. High profitability encouraged further capital deployment, which in turn kept downward pressure on reinsurance prices, particularly in property catastrophe lines where pricing softened markedly compared with the hard market conditions of 2022-2024 (Gallagher Re., 2026[10]).
Lower reinsurance prices did not, however, universally translate into lower retention ratios. In fact, in a large majority of jurisdictions, insurer retentions increased (i.e. lower cession to reinsurance). Among the same sample of 52 reporting jurisdictions, 37 recorded an increase in their retention ratio and 15 a decrease, with the simple average retention ratio rising modestly from 74.8% in 2024 to 75.2% in 2025 (Figure 2.5).
In per cent
Note: For more details, please see the methodological notes in Annex B.
Source: OECD Global Insurance Statistics.
Reinsurance purchasing decisions likely reflected factors beyond pricing alone. In some jurisdictions, access to certain types of reinsurance coverage remained constrained despite the broader softening in prices. In Slovenia, for instance, some insurers reported difficulties in securing property catastrophe reinsurance protection following significant climate-related losses in recent years. This illustrates that local reinsurance conditions can diverge from global trends, shaped by jurisdiction-specific loss histories and risk profiles. Reinsurance purchasing decisions also likely reflect capital management objectives, regulatory requirements and insurers’ own risk appetites, which are factors that do not necessarily change in response to short-term movements in reinsurance prices.