The UK accounts for nearly a quarter (24%) of the total assets of insurers in the European Economic Area (EEA), according to data from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).
France and Germany closely follow, with 22% and 19% respectively. As of the end of the third quarter of 2016, EEA-domiciled insurers had €11.5trn in assets. A report by 1Asig, said the data were based on information provided by 556 life insurers, 1,321 non-life insurers, and 323 composite companies from EEA.
Investments worth €7.3trn consisted mainly of bonds (63.8%) while equities represented a 3.68% share. Of the total, 14.2% was on related undertakings and 12.8% went to collective investments undertakings. The amount did not include assets held for index-linked and unit-linked contracts, which the report said amounted to €2.5trn.
The data, extracted last 14 June, covered the European Union plus Norway and Liechtenstein. EIOPA statistics, which are published quarterly, provide information on funds, capital requirements, and expenses based on insurance undertakings’ regulatory reporting.
As for the strength in numbers in Europe, there are over 282,000 insurance brokers and at least 275,000 insurance agents operating in countries surveyed by the European Federation of Financial Intermediaries and Financial Advisers (FECIF).
Research carried out by FECIF found that there are more than 695,000 advisers and intermediaries working in the investments, insurance, and banking product sectors across 15 major European countries. The federation described the workforce number as staggering.
Data collected for the study included sales turnovers, the value of contracts intermediated, and the total workforce employed in the sector. The numbers were from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK.
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