Insurance companies have slightly lagged the market but rising interest rates bolster income.
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s investors adjust to a new market era of higher interest rates, insurance companies slightly lagged the broader market in the last 12 months. The S&P Insurance Select Industry Index has lost nearly 1% in the past year, outpaced by a roughly 3% gain for the benchmark S&P 500 index. Still, most large insurance companies remain well-capitalized and have hardly lost ground on the list: With rates still high, that means more cash for insurers to take in.
One hundred insurance companies made this year’s Forbes Global 2000, which ranks the 2,000 largest public companies in the world using a composite score that takes into account revenue, profit, assets and market value. Insurance giants spread across the United States, China, Germany, France and Switzerland make up five of the top 100 on the list, down from 11 last year.
UnitedHealth Group took the industry’s top spot on the list, rising seven spots to No. 15. Also the highest-ranked U.S. firm for another year running, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth posted nearly $336 billion in 12-month revenue, the ninth-most of the world’s public companies, while its stock held largely flat during that period. With a market capitalization of nearly $500 billion—also among the biggest on the list, the firm posted net profit of $20 billion last year.
A close second this year—and the highest-ranked insurance company in 2022—was the Ping An Insurance of China, which gained one spot to come in at No. 16. The company holds a whopping $1.6 trillion of assets, with 12-month revenue of $166 billion and net profit of over $12 billion last year. Beyond insurance, Ping An also offers banking, asset management and healthcare services.
Germany’s Allianz (No. 37), France’s AXA (No. 48) and China Life Insurance Co. (No. 62) round out the top five largest insurers, similar to last year’s results. CVS, which is classified as a pharmaceutical retailer rather than an insurance company but owns insurer Aetna, ranks No. 65, down from No. 42 last year.
U.S. insurance firms had mixed results this year, though several large companies jumped up the list. Connecticut-based health insurer Cigna advanced to No. 68 from No. 84 last year, while Indiana-based Elevance Health rose to No. 78 from No. 88. Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana, moved up to No. 201 from No. 248. Its stock jumped 15% over the last 12 months while annual revenue also moved higher.
Several also lost ground American International Group, one of the list’s biggest gainers last year, fell to No. 123 from No. 90 as shares and revenue declined. New York-based MetLife, whose stock has plunged 25% in the last year, dropped to No. 168 from No. 74.
Other notable insurance companies on the list outside the top 100 include Swiss giants Zurich Insurance Group (No. 106) and Chubb (No. 112), Germany’s Munich Reinsurance (No. 114) and Japan Post Holdings (No. 143).
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