Investor types

Insurance companies

Insurance companies invest premiums against policy liabilities under solvency regimes that reward predictable, long-dated income. EEA insurers held €9.9 trillion of investments in 2025, of which private assets were €1.185 trillion at the end of the year.

What an insurance company is as an investor

Life insurers, non-life (property and casualty) insurers and reinsurers collect premiums and invest them until claims and policy benefits fall due. The premiums held in reserve against future claims form the core of an insurer's investment portfolio, which is built to match those liabilities and is held under solvency regimes that set the capital an insurer must hold against each type of asset.

Insurers differ from pension funds in two respects: their capital regime and their liabilities, which arise from insurance and annuity products rather than from pension promises to scheme members. A distinction also runs inside each life insurer between general account assets, which back guaranteed benefits and sit at the insurer's own risk, and unit-linked assets, chosen by policyholders who bear the investment risk.

Scale

According to EIOPA, total investments by EEA insurers amounted to €9.9 trillion in 2025. At the end of 2025 they held €7.9 trillion in government bonds, corporate bonds and equities, and around three-quarters of these investments remained within the EEA.¹ EEA insurers and reinsurers held €1.185 trillion of private assets at the end of 2025, around 11% of total assets.²

Individual balance sheets are large. At 31 December 2025 Allianz reported total assets of €1,024 billion and Legal & General £582,268 million.^8,12 In Switzerland, Swiss Re reported total assets of US$134,007 million, of which total investments were US$108,750 million.⁹ In Asia, Prudential plc, whose principal place of business is Hong Kong, reported total assets of US$212,195 million.^10,11

In the United States, NAIC data cited by Beinsure show that the number of private equity owned US insurers rose from 90 in 2018 to 137 in 2024, and that those insurers held US$704 billion in cash and invested assets, equal to 7.8% of the industry total.⁴

Structures and sub-types

The sector divides into four main groups, and each has a different appetite for private assets.

Life insurers, which write long-dated savings, protection and annuity business and lean towards private credit.²
Non-life insurers, which write shorter-dated property, casualty and liability cover and need more liquid, shorter-duration assets.
Reinsurers, which insure other insurers.
Composite insurers, which write both life and non-life business.

EIOPA's July 2026 factsheet found that reinsurers, non-life insurers and composites show higher investments in private equity than life insurers.² Two further groups are captive insurers, owned by a corporate group to insure its own risks, and insurers owned by private equity firms, which have grown in both the US and Europe.⁴

Source of capital and investment horizon

An insurer's investable capital is the premium income it holds against future claims and benefits, together with retained earnings and shareholders' funds. The horizon follows the liabilities. Life and annuity liabilities are long-dated, which gives life insurers a horizon measured in decades and a need for assets that produce predictable cash flows over that period; non-life liabilities are shorter and less predictable.

How insurers invest in private markets

At the end of 2025, private credit made up about 5.0% of the total assets of EEA insurers and reinsurers, and private equity 6.3%.² Life insurers lean towards private credit, which can be structured to match long-dated liabilities, while reinsurers, non-life insurers and composites hold more private equity.²

The capital regime explains the preference. Senior, rated or rating-equivalent debt, infrastructure debt and commercial mortgages carry lower capital charges than equity and can be matched to liabilities, so most insurer private market activity is in credit and real assets rather than buyout or venture capital. Related investor types on the other side of these allocations include private credit funds, structured credit investors and infrastructure investors.

How decisions are made

Investment decisions are led by the chief investment officer within an asset and liability management framework approved by the board. A proposed investment is assessed not only for return and risk but for its capital charge, its fit with the liabilities it is meant to back and its accounting and reporting treatment, so the risk and actuarial functions review each new asset class or fund before an investment committee approves it. Many insurers delegate parts of their portfolios to in-house or external asset managers under mandates that set these limits.

What insurers look for and why they decline

Insurers look for predictable cash flows, duration that matches their liabilities, capital efficiency under their solvency regime, an investment-grade or equivalent risk profile and detailed asset-level data for regulatory reporting. Investments are commonly declined because the capital charge is too high for the expected return, because the position is subordinated, because cash distributions are unpredictable or because the manager cannot supply the look-through data the insurer needs to calculate its capital requirement.

Regulation and governance

Insurers are regulated under solvency regimes that set capital charges by asset type: Solvency II in the European Union, Solvency UK in the United Kingdom, the Swiss Solvency Test in Switzerland and NAIC risk-based capital rules in the United States.

Solvency II equity charges. According to a 2022 study for the European Parliament, the standard formula charges 39% for type 1 equity and 49% for type 2 equity, which includes non-listed equities. Following a 2019 amendment, qualifying private equity can be treated as type 1. Long-term equity investments and strategic holdings face a lower charge of 22%, and qualifying infrastructure equity a charge of 30% plus 77% of the symmetric adjustment.⁶
Solvency UK. The Prudential Regulation Authority's policy statement PS10/24 of 6 June 2024 reformed the matching adjustment, broadening eligibility to assets with highly predictable cash flows, with the main changes in effect from 30 June 2024.⁷
Private equity ownership. According to Beinsure, citing EIOPA, 26 private equity owned insurance groups in the EU held about €260 billion of assets under management, 2.4% of the EU insurance market. EIOPA plans to finalise guidance to help national supervisors assess private equity takeovers of insurers, which often aim to exit within about five years, and wants buyers to show long-term commitment.⁴

Trends in 2025 and 2026

Private credit has become a significant part of insurance balance sheets. EIOPA's Financial Stability Report of 15 December 2025 put insurers' private credit exposure at €514 billion, 5.1% of total assets, at the end of 2024, and flagged financial stability risks related to private credit.³ By the end of 2025, private assets as a whole had reached €1.185 trillion.²

Private equity ownership of insurers continued to grow, from 90 US insurers in 2018 to 137 in 2024.⁴ In the UK, insurance groups including Aviva, Legal & General, M&G, Phoenix Group, Royal London and Aegon UK signed the Mansion House Accord on 13 May 2025, under which signatories intend to invest at least 10% of their DC default funds in private markets by 2030, with 5% in the UK.⁵ The balance sheets of several large groups grew in 2025: Legal & General's total assets rose from £544,167 million to £582,268 million and Prudential's from US$181,876 million to US$212,195 million.^12,10

Notable examples

Insurer	Headquarters	Size, with date
Allianz	Munich	Total assets €1,024 billion, 31 December 2025⁸
Legal & General Group	London	Total assets £582,268 million; worldwide assets under management £1,204,529 million, 31 December 2025¹²
Prudential plc	London (registered office) and Hong Kong (principal place of business)	Total assets US$212,195 million, 31 December 2025^10,11
Swiss Re	Zurich	Total assets US$134,007 million; total investments US$108,750 million, 31 December 2025⁹

How advisers and placement agents work with insurers

Because each asset is held under a solvency capital charge, an adviser or fund manager approaching an insurer needs to present the regulatory treatment of the investment alongside its expected return. In practice this means setting out the expected capital charge under the insurer's regime, a credit rating or rating-equivalent assessment where the investment is debt, the cash flow profile against the insurer's liabilities and a commitment to provide look-through reporting. Proposals are reviewed by the insurer's investment, risk and asset and liability management functions, often alongside its asset management arm. Anglo-Suisse Capital advises on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors.

Frequently asked questions

How much do European insurers invest?

Total investments by EEA insurers amounted to €9.9 trillion in 2025, according to EIOPA.¹

Do European insurers invest in private equity?

Yes. Private equity accounted for 6.3% of the total assets of EEA insurers and reinsurers at the end of 2025.²

What capital charge does private equity carry under Solvency II?

Type 2 equity, which includes non-listed equities, carries 49% under the standard formula, against 39% for type 1; qualifying private equity can be treated as type 1 and long-term equity investments carry 22%.⁶

Which insurers prefer private credit?

Life insurers lean towards private credit, while reinsurers, non-life insurers and composites hold more private equity.²

How large is insurers' private credit exposure?

€514 billion, or 5.1% of total assets, at the end of 2024, according to EIOPA.³

What changed in the UK under Solvency UK?

The PRA's PS10/24 broadened matching adjustment eligibility to assets with highly predictable cash flows, with the main changes in effect from 30 June 2024.⁷

How much of US insurance is owned by private equity?

Private equity owned US insurers held US$704 billion, 7.8% of the industry total, in 2024, according to NAIC data cited by Beinsure.⁴

Are regulators concerned about private equity owners of insurers?

EIOPA plans guidance to help supervisors assess private equity takeovers of insurers and wants buyers to show long-term commitment.⁴

Working with Anglo-Suisse Capital

Anglo-Suisse Capital advises companies, fund managers and shareholders on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors in the UK, Switzerland and internationally.

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Sources

This page is general information for professional investors and is not investment advice. Figures are taken from the sources listed, as at the dates stated.