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The insurance industry also got its fair share of the pandemic-prompted economic turmoil, but its recovery has been speedy both in the UK and globally. The public has become ever-more conscious about their expenditure, and this also applies while shopping for the best policies. Scroll down to explore our collection of UK insurance market statistics to learn more about changing trends, industry news, and more.
The insurance industry was not immune to pandemic-induced recession, though it also urged the public to reconsider their options of protection. The biggest change came with the FCA’s reform which now bans insurers to offer discounted prices to newcomers to prevent increasing premiums in the years that follow—also known as price walking. This is expected to significantly change the industry landscape. The public is also quite conscious whilst shopping for coverage, and the general distrust of the insurance data given by providers persists, as insurance stats show.
Industry-wise, Zurich UK made history by disclosing its ethnicity pay gap, which reveals that a lot more work is needed for diversity and equity in the insurance sector. The latest census also proves that diversity in upper management is not only a racial issue but also gender-based.
1. The number of insurance companies fell by 2,000 between January 2014 and October 2021. (Statista)
2. 191 of all 361 UK-based insurance companies operate within the accident and sickness sector. (Statista)
3. 43% of policyholders don’t trust statistics on insurance claims given by providers ‘very much’. (FT Adviser)
4. 46% of policyholders would like to change their insurance providers. (YouGov)
5. British public spent £19.1 billion on insurance in 2020, marking the lowest figure since 2004. (Statista)
6. Seven in 10 policyholders actively look for better deals in the market. (YouGov)
7. The UK is the fourth largest insurance and long-term savings provider in the world. (ABI)
8. The general insurance industry market size amounts to £74 billion. (IBIS World)
9. As of 2022, insurers are banned to sell at a cheaper cost to new clients, possibly resulting in less switching. (The Guardian)
10. Insurance companies statistics point to Old Mutual Ltd as the biggest employer in the industry. (Statista)
11. Only 5% of CEOs in the insurance industry are women. (Insurance Census)
12. Only 7% of employees in the insurance industry are ethnic minorities. (Insurance Census)
13. Zurich UK’s ethnicity pay gap climbed up to 10.2% in 2021 from 9.8% in 2020. (Zurich UK)
14. 70% of professionals working in the insurance industry would feel comfortable discussing mental health, while 20% said it kept them from focusing on work. (Insurance Census)
The total number of claims was down in 2020 due to nationwide lockdowns, but it seemed to be picking up over 2021. Though the Covid-19 pandemic had the public reassess their financial situation, statistics show that many still rely on savings rather than protection via insurance. Mental health issues have inevitably emerged, which is also reflected in corresponding claims. The pandemic also hit the travel industry like a storm and made some changes in the way policyholders obtain travel insurance. Besides the pandemic, out-of-the-ordinary natural events also affected the UK insurance industry statistics.
15. Due to the higher than average flood and storm damage in 2020, the home insurance loss ratio deteriorated by 5%. (Ernst & Young)
16. 66% of Gen Z policyholders find instant payment after a disaster as the most valuable home insurance feature. (Deloitte)
17. Weekly medical insurance premium prices for households with senior citizens fell from £4.9 in 2019 to £2.7 in 2020. (Statista)
18. Pet insurance statistics across the UK reveal that the value of paid claims amounted to £799 billion in 2020, down from £815 billion in 2019. (Statista)
19. Monthly average premiums are the highest for English bulldogs among other dog breeds at £66,50. (Statista)
20. The average pet insurance claim amounted to £822; claims typically include coverage for pet travelling, death and cremation costs, or public liability. (ABI)
21. The largest domesticated cats, Maine Coons, are the most expensive cat breed to insure, averaging at £168 in premiums. (Statista)
22. 37% of people would rather have invisible car insurance, which comes as a part of the lease agreement. (Deloitte)
23. 64% of Britons think cyclists should be required to have insurance against accidents. (YouGov)
24. Car insurance claim statistics estimate an increase of 25% in 2022. (Ernst & Young)
25. 37% of motor insurance policyholders are looking to switch providers, the highest among all lines of insurance. (YouGov)
26. 78% of Britons aged between 50 and 65 would buy travel insurance when booking a holiday, compared to 52% of people aged 18 to 24. (Statista)
27. Protection against Covid-related risks is a top priority for people who shop for travel insurance at 58%, surpassing the previous main determinator of price (44%). (Mintel)
28. Travel insurance statistics point to a switch to multi-trip protection from single-trip, policy owners of which were down to 15% in 2021 from %40 in 2019. (PR News Wire)
29. Claims valued at £46 million are paid each day in motor and property insurance. (ABI)
30. The pandemic urged about 8.5 million Britons to buy or consider buying life insurance. (FT Adviser)
31. Paid life insurance claims amounted to £17 million a day in 2020, the highest recorded number. (ABI)
32. 22% of Britons don’t think life insurance providers are ‘honest’ or ‘transparent’, though official life insurance statistics the UK’s ABI published state that 98% of claims were paid year on year. (Ernst & Young, ABI)
33. Mental health claims under income protection rose from 10% to 12% in 2020. (ABI)
34. Non-disclosure was the biggest reason given for income protection claims. (ABI)
35. 77% of UK citizens prioritise savings over life or health insurance. (Ernst & Young)
As the number of insurance claims per year decreased due to the lockdowns, there has also been a fall in insurance fraud in the UK, though the ‘crash for cash’ gangs continue to engage in fraudulent activities across the nation. The combat against globalised insurance fraud does not spur much concern but countries are still exercising caution.
36. The number of detected insurance fraudulent claims fell by 10% to 96,000 in 2020, with a total value of £1.1 billion, insurance fraud statistics show. (Insurance Business Mag)
37. Providers cite insufficient staffing and budgetary issues as their biggest challenge whilst combating insurance fraud. (Globalization of Insurance Fraud Report)
38. Over 34% of insurance providers in the UK and Europe have dedicated resources or a department dealing with fraud, compared to 22% of North America. (Globalization of Insurance Fraud Report)
39. IFB received over 21,000 fraudulent motor insurance policies in 12 months, equating to nearly 60 fake policies created each day. (Insurance Fraud Bureau)
40. Home insurance statistics in the UK record a decrease in the number of frauds by 10% to 24,000 with a value of £111 million—which is also down by 9%. (ABI)
41. DAC lists impersonation fraud through digital communication within the top 10 tech risks the insurance industry will have to face in 2022. (DAC Beachcroft)
42. The FBI estimates the total cost of insurance fraud (excl. health) in the US to be over $40 billion a year. (FBI)
43. The majority of ‘crash for cash’ scams happen in Birmingham, followed by Bradford, London, and Luton. (Insurance Fraud Bureau)
The premium values are falling in Europe, with the trend likely to spread to emerging markets. Besides Covid-19, countries like Australia also suffered from extreme weather conditions like wildfires and storms, which is reflected in the increasing number of claim payments. The US remains one of the most expensive countries for certain types of coverage, while the size of the insurance industry in China is growing rapidly.
44. Only five European countries experienced growth in written premiums in both life and non-life sectors—Malta, Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal, and Denmark. (Statista)
45. There was a 20% increase in non-life claim payments in Australia due to wildfires in 2020. (OECD)
46. The latest OECD global insurance statistics published reveal that insurance spending makes up 8.9% of overall GDP—compared to 11.9% of the UK’s. (OECD)
47. Black life insurance policy owners had a median coverage of $50,000, compared to $150,000 of that of white policy owners in the US. (Haven Life)
48. The global insurance market value amounted to over $5 billion in 2021. (Statista)
49. SwissRe forecasts a 6.4% degrowth in premiums in emerging markets. (SwissRe)
50. At a penetration rate of below 3%, Africa remains massively underinsured. (New African Magazine)
51. China insurance statistics point to a whopping 10% global market share. The country has the second-largest insurance market. (Atlas Magazine)
52. Hit by a series of tropical storms, claim payments climbed up by over 200% in Honduras. (OECD)
53. The Bahamas has the highest insurance density among emerging markets. (Statista)
54. The US has the most expensive premiums for health insurance, followed by Hong Kong. (Laing Buisson)
55. 11% of the US population lacks any form of health insurance. (Washington Post)
56. The global insurance penetration rate stands at 7%, while Taiwan insurance statistics record a whopping 17%. For comparison, it’s 11% for the UK and 12% for the US. (Statista)
Despite the challenging times for the country and world, the UK still remains as one of the biggest insurance markets in the world—emerging with a marginal deterioration of loss ratio due to extreme weather conditions and a decrease in premium values. While industry leaders acknowledge the need to increase public trust in providers, the FCA’s new reforms are likely to shake up UK insurance market statistics in the years to come.
Sources: Statista, FT Adviser, YouGov, Statista, ABI, IBIS, The Guardian, Statista, Insurance Census, Zurich UK, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Statista, Statista, Statista, Statista, YouGov, Statista, Mintel, PR Newswire, FT Adviser, ABI, Ernst & Young, ABI, Insurance Business Mag, Globalization of Insurance Fraud Report, Insurance Fraud Bureau, ABI, DAC Beachcroft, FBI, Insurance Fraud Bureau, Statista, OECD, OECD, Haven Life, Statista, SwissRe, New African Magazine, Atlas Mag, Statista, Laing Buisson, Washington Post, Statista, Statista, Nimblefins, Atlas Magazine
The general insurance market in the UK amounted to as much as £74 billion in 2021. The UK is also the largest market in terms of total domestic premiums, and the fourth largest in the world, surpassed only by the US, China, and Japan. (IBIS, Statista)
Insurance facts and statistics for the UK market show that Admiral is the largest insurance company in the nation with a market share of over 15%. AXA, Direct Line Group, Aviva, Liverpool Victoria, Hastings, Esure, Ageas, NFU Mutual, and RSA followed suit. (Nimblefins)
The US industry market is the largest in the world with a share of over 40%. China comes second at 10%, followed by Japan at 6%, the UK at 5.38%, and Germany at 4.11%, as reported by general insurance statistics. (Atlas Magazine)
Around 37% of the UK public had either bought or thought about purchasing life insurance. By that estimation, 63% of Britons don’t have life insurance or don’t think about getting one. That being said, the pandemic prompted about 11% of the population, 5.8 million people, to get life insurance—if the trend follows the number is likely to go up, UK insurance market statistics and forecasts indicate. (FT Adviser)
