Investment-linked cross-border life premiums have returned to pre-Covid levels, according to a report by the Association for International Life Offices (Ailo).
The research carried out by Acuity Corporate Consulting revealed that an estimated £68bn ($85bn, €80bn) of premiums were written globally in 2021. That is a 17.2% increase from the £58bn in 2020.
This means that investment-linked cross-border life premiums made up 2.9% of total new worldwide life premiums in 2021 – up from 2.5% the previous year – and 10.6% in the advanced markets of Europe – a significant increase from 6% in 2020.
The association has also pointed out some regional changes in its report.
Europe (excluding the UK) continued to lead the way in with a 66.1% share of the market, up from 58.2% in 2020. North America (12.5%) and Asia Pacific (3.5%) reported falls from 14.2% and 11.5%, respectively, the previous year.
But the UK has seen its global share increase to 11.1% from 9.4% making it the third ranked region, Ailo said.
In other parts of the world, the Middle East has slightly increased its share to 5.4% from 5.2%, and Latin America (1.1%) and Africa (0.3%) remain the smallest regions.
In terms of sources of business, Europe (including the UK) was responsible for 77.2% of global cross-border life business in 2021, up from 67.6% in 2020.
Breakdown
Within Europe, the top three countries for life business were Italy, France and Germany which accounted for 74% of the total premiums written, slightly down from 75% the previous year.
Other markets such as Sweden, Belgium and Portugal followed by Spain and Switzerland “lag some distance behind”, Ailo said.
Simon Willoughby, of Acuity Corporate Consulting, said: “This is the fourth year that Acuity has undertaken this survey. It aims to provide some context for Ailo members regarding the relative size of their businesses globally by applying a common definition of investment-linked cross-border life business across all regions.
“However, differences in reporting formats and the availability of some data dictates that the total figure represents a best estimate.
“Nevertheless, at both a global and regional level, Ailo members benefit greatly from the management information these reports provide.”
