The Top 10 Insurance Companies in the United States – There are several methods for ranking the size of insurance firms. Companies can be measured by their market capitalization (the company’s value on a stock exchange) or by sales numbers such as net premiums written in a year or the number of policies sold.
In this section, we look at the Top 10 Insurance Companies in the United States in terms of market capitalization, market share, and revenue.
The Top 10 Insurance Companies in the United States
The overall worth of a company’s stock, or market capitalization, is computed by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current share price. It is a quick approach for investors to determine the worth of a firm.
Companies with substantial market capitalizations are often well-established safe investments. They are likely to grow steadily and pose the least degree of risk. Mid-cap companies are likewise well-established, yet they offer tremendous development potential.
Finally, small-cap enterprises are frequently fresh ventures with significant growth potential. Investing in these companies carries the most risk because they are more sensitive to economic downturns than larger and mid-cap corporations.
Investors can purchase stock in publicly listed insurance businesses. As of the first quarter of 2022, the following corporations had the highest market capitalizations on global stock exchanges:
Publicly Traded Non-health Insurance Companies
Company Name |
Market Capitalization |
Berkshire Hathaway (U.S.) |
$714 billion |
Ping An Insurance (China) |
$141 billion |
AIA Group (Hong Kong) |
$123 billion |
China Life Insurance (China) |
$106 billion |
Allianz (Germany) |
$89 billion |
Cigna (US) |
$76 billion |
Zurich Insurance (Switzerland) |
$67 billion |
AXA (France) |
$65 billion |
Humana (U.S.) |
$55 billion |
Munich (Germany) |
$39 billion |
Publicly Traded Health Insurance and Managed Health Care Companies
Company Name |
Market Capitalization |
United Healthcare (UNH) |
$448 billion |
CVS (CVS) |
$136 billion |
Anthem (ANTM) |
$109 billion |
Cigna (CI) |
$76 billion |
Humana (HUM) |
$55 billion |
Centene Corporation (CNC) |
$48 billion |
Molina Healthcare (MOH) |
$18 billion |
Bright Health Group (BHG) |
$2 billion |
MultiPlan Corporation (MPLN) |
$2 billion |
Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) |
$1.6 billion |
Insurance firms are not all publicly listed. Many insurers are formed as mutual corporations, with participating policyholders becoming virtually partial owners of the company. The mutual company model for an insurance firm extends back hundreds of years, and some benefits are provided to policyholders that are not available to publicly traded (stock company) insurers.
When comparing the top insurance firms, it is useful to distinguish between the types of insurance, or lines, that are being considered. Because some of the major insurance companies in the United States are not publicly traded, it is difficult to determine their market worth.
Property and casualty insurance
Property and casualty insurers write policies that cover real properties, residences, automobiles, and other vehicles. They also issue policies to cover liabilities that may arise as a result of an accident or negligence on those properties, to cover the costs of lawsuits or medical expenses ensuing from such accidents.
In terms of net premiums written (the amount of money that non-life policies can anticipate to collect throughout the life of the contract, fewer commissions and fees), the top U.S. property and casualty companies in 2020 are:
Company |
Net Premiums Written |
State Farm Group |
$66.2 billion |
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) |
$46.4 billion |
Progressive Insurance Group (PGR) |
$41.7 billion |
Allstate Insurance Group (ALL) |
$39.2 billion |
Liberty Mutual |
$36.2 billion |
Travelers Group (TRV) |
$28.8 billion |
$24.6 billion |
|
Chubb (CB) |
$24.2 billion |
Farmers Insurance Group |
$20.1 billion |
Nationwide |
$18.5 billion |
Life Insurance Companies
Life insurance firms pledge to pay out a lump sum payout upon the insured’s death. Even though actuarial science has developed mortality tables to precisely anticipate the future liability of policies to be paid, financial strength assures that these organizations can cover all of their commitments while still earning a profit.
Company |
Total Direct Premium |
Market Share |
New York Life Grp |
$11.7 billion |
6.75% |
Northwestern Mutual |
$11.3 billion |
6.52% |
Metropolitan Group (MET) |
$10.5 billion |
6.05% |
Prudential of America (PRU) |
$10.1 billion |
5.80% |
Lincoln National |
$8.4 billion |
4.83% |
MassMutual |
$7.9 billion |
4.57% |
State Farm |
$5.0 billion |
2.87% |
Aegon (AEG) |
$4.9 billion |
2.80% |
John Hancock |
$4.7 billion |
2.73% |
Minnesota Mutual Grp |
$4.7 billion |
2.70% |
Health Insurance Companies
Health insurance firms offer policies that cover all or a portion of a policyholder’s health and medical expenses. Individual policies can be acquired on their own or through an employer. Technically, the federal government is the main provider of health insurance in the United States, with Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid managed by individual states.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2020 report, the following are the largest non-government-supported U.S. health insurance firms by total direct premium collected:
Company |
Total Direct Premium |
Market Share |
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) |
$177 billion |
14.1% |
Kaiser |
$104 billion |
8.3% |
Anthem |
$77 billion |
6.2% |
Centene Corp. |
$75 billion |
6.0% |
Humana |
$74 billion |
5.9% |
CVS Healthcare (CVS) |
$69 billion |
5.5% |
CIGNA Health |
$32 billion |
2.5% |
Molina Healthcare |
$21 billion |
1.7% |
Independence Health |
$21 billion |
1.6% |
FAQS
What Do the CEOs of the World’s Largest Health Insurance Companies Earn?
The CEOs of the six major health insurance businesses earn more than $15 million each year:
- Michael Neidorff of Centene earns $26.4 million
- David Cordani of Cigna earns $19.1 million
- David Wichmann of UnitedHealth Group earns $18.9 million
- Joseph Zubretsky of Molina Healthcare earns $18 million
- Bruce Broussard of Human earns $16.7 million
- Gail Boudreaux of Anthem earns $15.5 million
Are the Large Insurance Companies Good Investments?
For some individuals, investing in insurance firms might be a secure bet. Insurance firms are formed to cope with risk, which might ultimately lower the dangers of investing in them. When compared to other forms of insurance companies, health insurance, which is prone to rapid change, offers the potential for enormous growth.
Who are the largest insurance company, investors?
Other institutions are typically the largest investors in insurance firms. UnitedHealth Group (UNH), for example, has 4,124 institutional shareholders who own more than one billion shares.5
What Are the Top Homeowners Insurance Companies in the United States?
State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers are the five largest home insurance providers in the United States.6 These companies collectively control more than 45% of the homeowners’ insurance market.
What Are the Largest Insurance Companies in Canada?
Manulife Financial Corporation, Great-West Lifeco, Desjardins, Sun Life Financial, and Fairfax Financial are Canada’s five largest insurance firms.7 Manulife is Canada’s largest insurance corporation, with over 35,000 workers and 30 million customers.
Conclusion
There are several methods for ranking the largest insurance businesses. Shares of publicly traded corporations can be purchased to assist in the development of a well-diversified investment portfolio with exposure to the financial and healthcare sectors. Identifying which sorts of insurance a company primarily handles aids in determining which companies are rivals and which are not.