The 10 largest insurance companies in Australia have a combined market capitalisation of $70.9 billion, accounting for 99.8% of the nation’s total of $71.05 billion. The overall figure can be attributed to the 13 insurers and brokerages trading in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). These include an insurance company exclusively operating in New Zealand.
Market capitalisation, also referred to as market cap, is a metric often used by investors to determine whether a company is a risky or safe investment. Although the country’s insurance sector presents relatively fewer options compared to other regions, it still provides a good opportunity for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.
If you’re an investor searching for insurance companies to add to your portfolio, this piece can help narrow down your choices. If you’re an insurance professional, this article can serve as a useful source of information for who you may want to seek work. Here, Insurance Business ranks the 10 biggest insurers listed in the ASX based on market cap. Read on and learn more about the largest insurance companies in Australia.
1. QBE Insurance Group LimitedMarket cap: $21.06 billion
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: General insurance, reinsurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
QBE is a global insurer and reinsurer with operations in 37 countries. It boasts a 14,500-strong workforce worldwide and offers a range of personal, commercial, and specialty insurance products, as well as risk management solutions. QBE operates five regional divisions, namely:
In Australia, QBE is the third-largest general insurer, accounting for more than a tenth of the market. The company focuses on three business lines. These are:
Apart from this, QBE Australia has specialist teams to assist clients in searching for coverage that matches their unique needs. These include:
QBE’s worldwide reach extends to policyholders in almost 140 countries.
Market cap: $15.03 billion
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: General insurance
Headquarters: Brisbane, QLD
Suncorp is among the most recognised financial brands in Australia. As one of the country’s mid-sized banks, the company offers a range of financial services and products, apart from personal and commercial insurance. These include:
Suncorp accounts for more than a quarter of Australia’s general insurance market, making it the second-largest in the country, trailing only industry giant IAG. It offers insurance policies through its several brands, including:
AAMI: Offers home, contents, landlord, and strata insurance as well as car and vehicle coverage. Business, health, life, and income protection insurance policies are also available.
Apia: A specialist insurer for over 50s, the brand sells car, property, health, travel, funeral and injury support coverage.
Bingle: Provides no-frills car insurance at affordable rates. If you want to get additional tips on how to save on auto insurance, you can check out our guide to cheaper car insurance.
CIL Insurance: Offers an array of caravan and RV insurance policies, which cover everything from tiny houses and horse floats to slide-ons and trailers.
Essentials by AAI: Provides different types of coverages to Australians who might not have the money for mainstream insurance.
GIO: Designed for customers outside Queensland, the brand offers car, home, life, business, and travel insurance policies.
Shannons: Catering to motoring enthusiasts, the brand specialises in car and bike insurance but also offers home and CTP insurance. Shannons also holds regular auctions featuring collectible motorcycles, cars, and racing memorabilia.
Terri Scheer: Landlord insurance specialist provides cover for tenant-related risks and unexpected events that cause property damage.
Vero: Provides coverage to SMEs and larger businesses, including tax audit, workers’ compensation, professional and financial risks, non-profit, surety bonds, business vehicle, marine cargo, and commercial hull insurance. The brand also offers car and home insurance.
Many of Suncorp’s brands are recognised for providing great customer experience when it comes to car insurance. Find out which of these brands made our latest rankings of the best car insurers for customer satisfaction.
3. Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG)Market cap: $11 billion
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: General insurance, reinsurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
Among the largest insurance companies in Australia based on market cap, IAG is also the country's biggest general insurer, controlling about a third of the market. IAG is the umbrella organisation behind some of the nation’s prominent insurance brands. Combined, these businesses underwrite around $13 billion in premiums annually. The table below details the different brands under IAG.
*In June 2022, IAG announced that SGIO and SGIC will be ceasing the sale of new policies and will start transferring new and existing personal insurance policyholders to the NRMA Insurance brand in December 2022. The insurance giant, however, will continue to offer business insurance under the SGIO and SGIC brands.
4. Medibank Private Limited
Market cap: $8.95 billion
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: Private health insurance
Headquarters: Melbourne, VIC
Medibank is among the top private health insurance companies in Australia based on customer satisfaction and the largest in terms of market share, controlling more than a quarter of the market. Apart from health policies, the insurer offers life, pet, and travel insurance. It also provides its 3.9 million customers with a variety of healthcare and wellness services.
Unfortunately, due to Medibank’s scale and the sensitivity of the information it handles, the insurer has become an attractive target for cybercriminals. Medibank was recently a victim of a ransomware attack, which compromised the personal details of its clients. This prompted chief executive David Koczkar to “unreservedly” apologise and pledge transparency.
5. Steadfast Group Limited
Market cap: $5.93 billion
Business type: Insurance broker network
Business line: General insurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
Steadfast is the largest insurance broker network in Australia and New Zealand, bringing together 417 general insurance brokerages under one prominent brand. Brokers in the Steadfast network have access to more than 160 commercial and personal insurance products.
Steadfast’s commercial insurance line consists of:
Its personal lines business, meanwhile, comprises:
Steadfast partners have written more than $11.5 billion in gross written premiums for the country’s SME insurance market.
6. nib Holdings Limited
Market cap: $3.38 billion
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: Private health insurance
Headquarters: Newcastle, NSW
nib is a global private health insurance provider that offers a variety of healthcare and medical coverage to over 1.5 million policyholders in Australia and New Zealand, as well as more than 190,000 international students and foreign workers in the country. The company is also among the top travel insurers in Australia and distributes travel policies worldwide through the nib Travel brand.
In an interview with Insurance Business, chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon unveiled “another impressive” half-year results, which he described as demonstrating “a symmetry returning to the businesses and profitability, after a period of COVID-led disruption.”
7. AUB Group Limited
Market cap: $2.54 billion
Business type: Insurance broker network
Business line: General insurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
AUB Group consists of a network of insurance brokers, underwriting agencies, and risk management service providers, catering to more than 900,000 clients across Australia and New Zealand. It has written over $4.4 billion in gross written premiums for policyholders across the country and internationally, placing it among the largest insurance companies in Australia.
AUB’s businesses are split into several branches. These are:
Market cap: $1.73 billion
Business type: Insurance services group
Business line: General insurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
PSC is a diversified insurance services group with operations in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Hong Kong. It consists of more than 40 trading businesses. PSC’s key businesses include:
PSC also operates several specialty businesses, which include:
9. Tower LimitedMarket cap: $204.9 million
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: General insurance
Headquarters: Auckland, New Zealand
Tower operates in New Zealand and seven Pacific Island nations, namely:
Tower’s product range covers all aspects of general insurance, with several specialised policies across different categories. Its home and contents insurance, for instance, includes specialised policies for landlord, car, business, pet, and travel coverage. The Kiwi insurer also offers specialised boat, motorbike, block and farm, and caravan policies, which cover policyholders for everything from damages caused by natural calamities to fire replacement and loss of income.
Tower is the last New Zealand general insurer to be listed in the ASX.
Market cap: $155.2 million
Business type: Insurance company
Business line: Life insurance
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
NobleOak Life provides comprehensive life insurance and a range of other policies to clients across the country. The company’s products are available through financial advisers, associations, and its business partners. Apart from life insurance, NobleOak Life’s portfolio includes:
Here’s a summary of the 10 largest insurance companies and brokerages in Australia based on market cap.
Market capitalisation, also referred to as market cap, pertains to the total value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. This metric indicates how much a business is worth as determined by the stock market. You can calculate a company’s market cap by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current market value of a single share. For this list, we pulled market capitalisation data from the ASX website.
A firm’s market capitalisation plays an essential role in determining its size, without having to gather data about its sales figures or total assets. Investors often use market cap to evaluate a company’s financial performance against firms of varying sizes. This metric tells them if a business presents a safe or risky investment opportunity.
Firms with a large market cap are typically financially stable and carry less risk for investors. Companies with smaller caps, on the other hand, are often riskier to invest in but offer huge potential rewards, especially if they post tremendous growth.
But what does market cap mean for the insurance community? Market cap can help insurance professionals and customers understand if an insurer is secure enough to meet its financial obligations. For those looking for a job in insurance, large cap companies can also provide a stable workplace.
Australian insurers, however, account for a small portion of the world’s insurance giants. If you want to find out the largest insurance companies in the world, you can check out our latest global rankings of the largest insurance companies in the world.
What do you think of the largest insurance companies in Australia? Have you experienced dealing with them? Share your story in the comment section below.
