If annual statement data is a mirror of how life insurers are doing, then the reflection the industry saw in 2006 was a lot more handsome than the year before.
According to that data, the reflection very much affirms trends that reflect consumer preferences: A growing interest in annuities and purchase of life insurance in the group market.
The data is culled from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, via Highline Data, LLC, an affiliate of National Underwriter.
Every category for life insurers experienced growth, and in several instances–premium income, individual annuity premiums, group life premiums and group life in-force–the growth was in the double digits for the top 200 companies in 2006 compared with 2005. The growth in these categories as well as the individual health category was really fueled by the large companies heading up these respective data measures.
Net admitted assets experienced a 9% growth rate for the top 200 companies, increasing to $4.6 trillion in 2006, compared with $4.2 trillion in 2005.
The share of that total in 2006 contributed by the top 10 companies was 26% up slightly from 2005′s 25%. That share increased somewhat when the top 25 companies were examined–they represented 37% of total admitted assets of the top 200 in both 2006 and in 2005.
Premium income increased 13% for the top 200 companies, growing to $557.6 billion in 2006 from $495.3 in 2005.
The top 10 companies accounted for 24% of total premium income of the top 200 companies in both 2006 and 2005. The top 25 had 37% of the total in 2006 and 36% in 2005.
Individual annuity premiums outpaced general premium growth, experiencing a 15% increase to $182.8 billion in 2006, compared with $158.8 billion in 2005 for the top 200 companies.
The top 10 companies in this category represented 43% of total individual annuity premium of the top 200 in 2006 as they did in 2005. The top 25 accounted for 68% of the total individual annuity premiums in 2006 as they did in 2005.
Group life premiums bounded 20% ahead of the 2005 totals for the top 200, totaling $34.1 billion in 2006, compared with $28.6 billion in 2005.
The top 10 companies in this category represented 66% of all group life premiums, slightly better than the 64% total recorded in 2005. The top 25 companies in this category pulled in 85% compared with 83% in 2005.
Group life insurance in-force also reflected the dominance of larger companies in the group life market. For the top 200 companies, the top 10 represented 70% of the category's in-force total in 2006 and 69% in 2005. The top 25 companies garnered 86% and 85% in 2006 and 2005, respectively.
The top 200 in this category increased by 9% to $9.9 trillion in 2006 compared with $9.1 trillion in 2005.