There are several methods for ranking the size of insurance companies. Companies can be measured by their market capitalization (the company’s value on a stock exchange) or by sales figures such as net premiums written in a year or the number of policies sold. In this section, we look at the top ten insurance companies in terms of market capitalization, market share, and revenue.
-Insurance companies, while not as flashy as investment banks or hedge funds, play an important role in the global financial economy.
-Insurance companies range in size and specialise in a variety of policy lines, including health, life, and property and casualty.
-Some insurance companies are mutually owned, which means that the policyholders own them.
-When ranking insurance companies, it is critical to divide them into product lines.
Largest Insurance Companies by Market Capitalization
The total value of a company’s stock, or market capitalization, is calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current share price. It is a quick way for investors to determine the worth of a company.
Companies with large market capitalizations are typically well-established conservative investments. They are likely to grow steadily and pose the least amount of risk. Mid-cap companies are also well-established, but they have tremendous growth potential. Finally, small-cap companies are frequently new ventures with high growth potential. Investing in these companies carries the most risk because they are more vulnerable to economic downturns than larger and mid-cap companies.
Investors can purchase stock in publicly traded insurance companies. As of the first quarter of 2022, the following companies had the highest market capitalizations on global stock exchanges:
Publicly Traded Non-health Insurance Companies
Company Name Market Capitalization
Berkshire Hathaway (U.S.) $714 billion
Ping An Insurance (China) $141 billion
AIA Group (Hong Kong) $123 billion
China Life Insurance (China) $106 billion
Allianz (Germany) $89 billion
Cigna (US) $76 billion
Zurich Insurance (Switzerland) $67 billion
AXA (France) $65 billion
Humana (U.S.) $55 billion
Munich (Germany) $39 billion
Publicly Traded Health Insurance and Managed Health Care Insurance Companies
Company Name Market Capitalization
United Healthcare (UNH) $448 billion
CVS (CVS) $136 billion
Anthem (ANTM) $109 billion
Cigna (CI) $76 billion
Humana (HUM) $55 billion
Centene Corporation (CNC) $48 billion
Molina Healthcare (MOH) $18 billion
Bright Health Group (BHG) $2 billion
MultiPlan Corporation (MPLN) $2 billion
Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) $1.6 billion
Insurance companies are not all publicly traded. In fact, many insurers are structured as mutual companies, with participating policyholders becoming essentially partial owners of the company. The mutual company model for an insurance company dates back hundreds of years, and certain benefits are provided to policyholders that are not available to publicly traded (stock company) insurers.
Largest Insurance Companies by Sales and Product Line
When comparing the largest insurance companies, it is useful to distinguish between the types of insurance, or lines, that are being considered. Because some of the largest insurance companies in the United States are not publicly traded, it is difficult to determine their market value.
Property and casualty insurance
Property and casualty insurers write policies that cover real estate, dwellings, automobiles, and other vehicles. They also write policies to cover liabilities that may arise as a result of an accident or negligence on those properties, in order to cover the costs of lawsuits or medical expenses resulting from such incidents.
In terms of net premiums written (the amount of money that non-life policies can expect to receive over the life of the contract, less commissions and costs), the top U.S. property and casualty companies in 2020 are :
Company Net Premiums Written
State Farm Group $66.2 billion
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) $46.4 billion
Progressive Insurance Group (PGR) $41.7 billion
Allstate Insurance Group (ALL) $39.2 billion
Liberty Mutual $36.2 billion
Travelers Group (TRV) $28.8 billion
USAA Group $24.6 billion
Chubb (CB) $24.2 billion
Farmers Insurance Group $20.1 billion
Nationwide $18.5 billion
Life Insurance Companies
Life insurance companies promise to pay out a lump sum benefit upon the insured’s death. Despite the fact that actuarial science has developed mortality tables to accurately estimate the future liability of policies to be paid, financial strength ensures that these companies can meet all of their obligations while still earning a profit.
Life insurance companies in the United States can be ranked based on direct premium written (the number of new policies written directly and not re-insured). For 2020:
Company Total Direct Premium Market Share
New York Life Grp $11.7 billion 6.75%
Northwestern Mutual $11.3 billion 6.52%
Metropolitan Group (MET) $10.5 billion 6.05%
Prudential of America (PRU) $10.1 billion 5.80%
Lincoln National $8.4 billion 4.83%
MassMutual $7.9 billion 4.57%
State Farm $5.0 billion 2.87%
Aegon (AEG) $4.9 billion 2.80%
John Hancock $4.7 billion 2.73%
Minnesota Mutual Grp $4.7 billion 2.70%
Health Insurance Companies
Health insurance companies offer policies that cover all or a portion of a policyholder’s health and medical expenses. Individual policies can be purchased on their own or through an employer. Technically, the federal government is the largest provider of health insurance in the United States, with Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid administered by individual states.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2020 report, the following are the largest non-government sponsored U.S. health insurance companies by total direct premium collected:
Company Total Direct Premium Market Share
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) $177 billion 14.1%
Kaiser $104 billion 8.3%
Anthem $77 billion 6.2%
Centene Corp. $75 billion 6.0%
Humana $74 billion 5.9%
CVS Healthcare (CVS) $69 billion 5.5%
CIGNA Health $32 billion 2.5%
Molina Healthcare $21 billion 1.7%
Independence Health $21 billion 1.6%
What Do the CEOs of the Largest Health Insurance Companies Make?
The following CEOs of the 6 largest health insurance companies make over $15 million annually:4
Michael Neidorff of Centene earns $26.4 million
David Cordani of Cigna earns $19.1 million
David Wichmann of UnitedHealth Group earns $18.9 million
Joseph Zubretsky of Molina Healthcare earns $18 million
Bruce Broussard of Human earns $16.7 million
Gail Boudreaux of Anthem earns $15.5 million
Who Are the Largest Investors in Insurance Companies?
Other institutions are typically the largest investors in insurance companies. UnitedHealth Group (UNH), for example, has 4,124 institutional shareholders who own more than one billion shares.
What Are the Largest Homeowners Insurance Companies in the U.S.?
State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers are the five largest homeowners insurance companies in the United States. These companies collectively control more than 45% of the homeowners’ insurance market.
What Are the Largest Insurance Companies in Canada?
The five largest insurance companies in Canada are Manulife Financial Corporation, Great-West Lifeco, Desjardins, Sun Life Financial, and Fairfax Financial.7 Manulife is Canada’s largest insurance company, employing over 35,000 employees and serving more than 30 million customers.
The Bottom Line
There are several methods for ranking the largest insurance companies. Shares of publicly traded companies can be purchased to assist in the development of a well-diversified investment portfolio with exposure to the financial and healthcare sectors. Identifying which types of insurance a company primarily handles aids in determining which companies are competitors and which are not. Looking at sales figures or premiums collected in a year, one can see how publicly traded companies compare to privately held or mutual companies, which account for a large portion of the industry.
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