In 2020, 12 French insurance undertakings ranked among the top 50 Europeans by investment volumes – the same as in 2019 – however, their leadership position among Europe's largest peers, and all 'solo' insurers, continues to erode, according to research by Insurance Asset Risk.
At the end of 2020, the 12 French firms in Europe's largest 50 held €1,507.6bn (2019: €1,506.1bn).
That accounted for 18.8% (2019: 20%) of the €8,021.2bn invested by 1,932 undertakings across the EEA, in Insurance Risk Data's database.
Across Europe's top 50 insurance investors in 2019, French insurers had accounted for 35.3% (2019: 36.6%) of the €4,271.6bn invested.
Marlon Rockenfeller, head of insurance strategy and advisory EMEA & APAC at DWS said this might a consequence of other countries growing at a higher rate during 2020.
"I have not seen any structural shifts that would see a decline of the French insurance book of business," he said. "When looking at direct written premia, it seems that [the French] dipped in 2020 compared to 2019, while Germany and Sweden grew."
As in previous years, German insurers came second in the ranking with 11 firms in the top 50 with a combined €932.9bn invested (2019: €897.3bn).
The third and fourth largest country for investors were the UK and Italy.
The UK had nine, and Italy six, of Europe's top 50 investors. Britons allocated €733.6bn, the Italians €471.2bn.
| Insurer | Type | Country | Investments (€ ‘000, excluding index/ unit-linked) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CNP Assurances Solo | Composite | France | 330,286,813.00 |
| 2 | Predica | Life | France | 305,470,618.00 |
| 3 | Allianz Lebensversicherungs AG | Life | Germany | 284,745,001.00 |
| 4 | The Prudential Assurance Company Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 164,684,267.30 |
| 5 | Allianz SE | Composite | Germany | 159,964,439.00 |
| 6 | Poste Vita S.p.A. | Life | Italy | 151,179,488.00 |
| 7 | AXA France Vie | Composite | France | 148,561,695.00 |
| 8 | BNP Cardif Assurance Vie | Composite | France | 139,145,082.50 |
| 9 | Legal & General Assurance Society Limited | Composite | United Kingdom | 116,582,676.90 |
| 10 | Sogecap | Composite | France | 107,852,244.60 |
| 11 | Aviva Life and Pensions UK Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 106,212,658.60 |
| 12 | NN Levensverzekering Maatschappij N.V. | Life | Netherlands | 96,694,157.00 |
| 13 | Assurances du Credit Mutuel (ACM) Vie SA | Life | France | 93,905,439.00 |
| 14 | Rothesay Life plc | Life | United Kingdom | 90,004,254.50 |
| 15 | Generali Vie S.A. | Life | France | 88,339,039.00 |
| 16 | Generali Italia S.P.A. | Composite | Italy | 87,942,845.00 |
| 17 | Intesa Sanpaolo Vita S.p.A. | Composite | Italy | 83,535,596.00 |
| 18 | Munich Re (Munchener Ruck AG) | Composite | Germany | 83,073,000.00 |
| 19 | La Mondiale | Life | France | 75,888,632.00 |
| 20 | Pension Insurance Corporation plc | Life | United Kingdom | 73,071,429.70 |
| 21 | VidaCaixa S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros | Composite | Spain | 70,006,196.50 |
| 22 | R+V Lebensversicherung AG | Life | Germany | 62,899,770.00 |
| 23 | Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. | Composite | Italy | 62,168,449.00 |
| 24 | Debeka Lebensversicherungsverein AG | Life | Germany | 61,718,805.00 |
| 25 | Groupama Gan Vie | Composite | France | 61,156,148.00 |
| 26 | AG Insurance SA | Composite | Belgium | 59,625,340.90 |
| 27 | Allianz Vie | Life | France | 58,591,097.00 |
| 28 | BPCE Vie | Composite | France | 57,793,904.00 |
| 29 | Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein AG | Health | Germany | 57,292,700.00 |
| 30 | Standard Life Assurance Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 53,360,278.70 |
| 31 | Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia omsesidigt | Composite | Sweden | 53,271,946.90 |
| 32 | The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 52,940,228.40 |
| 33 | Kommunal Landspensjonskasse | Life | Norway | 52,183,883.30 |
| 34 | Proxalto Lebensversicherung AG | Life | Germany | 50,437,099.00 |
| 35 | DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG | Health | Germany | 50,157,952.00 |
| 36 | Danica Pension | Composite | Denmark | 49,663,948.30 |
| 37 | UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A. | Composite | Italy | 48,410,937.00 |
| 38 | ERGO Lebensversicherung AG | Life | Germany | 42,941,862.00 |
| 39 | AXA Belgium | Composite | Belgium | 42,790,866.90 |
| 40 | Aegon Levensverzekering N.V. | Life | Netherlands | 42,483,148.00 |
| 41 | AXA Lebensversicherung AG | Life | Germany | 42,409,253.00 |
| 42 | ASR Levenserzekering N.V | Life | Netherlands | 41,844,254.00 |
| 43 | Aviva Vie | Composite | France | 40,649,477.00 |
| 44 | SRLEV N.V. | Life | Netherlands | 40,135,604.00 |
| 45 | Scottish Widows Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 39,307,611.40 |
| 46 | Achmea Pensioen en Levensverzekeringen N.V. | Life | Netherlands | 38,820,022.00 |
| 47 | PFA Pension | Composite | Denmark | 38,688,185.60 |
| 48 | Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A | Composite | Italy | 37,912,061.00 |
| 49 | Phoenix Life Limited | Life | United Kingdom | 37,478,475.10 |
| 50 | Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs-AG | Health | Germany | 37,330,875.00 |
Last year's ranking is available here.
Financial and investment data for over 3,000 insurers in Europe and Bermuda is available to users of Insurance Risk Data, a database from Field Gibson Media, Insurance Asset Risk's publisher. It includes European insurers' financial and regulatory filings, including Solvency II SFCR disclosures, into a single, comprehensive and user-friendly database. Click here for a demo/free trial or for more information contact phil.manley@fieldgibsonmedia.com.