MetLife Is Nation’s Largest Life Insurer

By Robert Dixon

InsuranceNewsNet

MetLife was the largest life insurer in the nation in 2012, with a bit more than $16 billion in premiums written representing just shy of a 10 percent market share, according to figures released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on March 4.

NAIC released two separate reports, which include 2012 market share data for life/fraternal and property/casualty insurers. The reports, which are available online, include countrywide direct written premiums for the top 25 groups and companies, as reported by insurers in their annual statements to the NAIC.

The top five reporting groups wrote a bit more than one-third of all life insurance premiums in the U.S. in 2010, the data show. Rounding out the top five are: AFLAC Group, with $11.1 billion in written premiums and a market share of 6.9 percent; Prudential, $9.9 billion in premiums, market share of 6.1 percent ; Northwestern Mutual, $9 billion, market share 5.6 percent, and New York Life, $7.7 billion, and a market share of 4.7 percent.

The two sets of data provide an indicator of the degree of market concentration in lines of business and identify the leading insurance writers, NAIC said in a statement.

The life/fraternal market share report contains cumulative market share data for the following lines of business: life, annuity considerations and aggregate total of life insurance, annuity considerations, deposit-type contract funds, other considerations and accident/health insurance.

The reports will be refreshed each Monday through the end of March, NAIC said in a statement. These abbreviated reports are available for viewing on the NAIC website, www.naic.org.

More in-depth market share information will be included in NAIC’s  “2012 Market Share Reports for Life/Fraternal” and the “2012 Market Share Reports for Property/Casualty,” which NAIC plans to release this summer.

NAIC is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by insurance regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.

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