While New Zealand's insurance market is growing, with total premiums hitting a significant NZ$6.47 billion in general insurance alone, the industry's 3.8% penetration of GDP reveals a stark protection gap compared to international peers, highlighting both its resilience and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the New Zealand general insurance market gross written premiums totalled NZ$6.47 billion, up 5.2% from 2021
- New Zealand's insurance industry penetration rate stood at 3.8% of GDP in 2022, below the OECD average of 8.1%
- The total assets of New Zealand insurers reached NZ$128.5 billion as of December 2022, reflecting a 7.1% year-on-year growth
- General insurance net premiums earned were NZ$5.8 billion in 2022
- Life insurance new business annual premium equivalent (APE) totalled NZ$550 million in 2022
- Health fund membership premiums averaged NZ$2,450 per policyholder in 2022
- General insurance claims ratio was 68.4% in 2022
- Total general insurance claims paid out NZ$4.2 billion in 2022
- Natural disaster claims from Cyclone Gabrielle totalled NZ$1.8 billion in early 2023
- Total active general insurance policies in NZ numbered 8.2 million in 2022
- Home insurance policies totalled 1.95 million in 2022, penetration 75% of households
- Motor insurance policies 3.1 million in 2022, 92% market penetration
- NZ insurers' average solvency ratio was 180% in 2022 under PSR regime
- Total regulatory capital held by general insurers NZ$4.8 billion in 2022
- Life insurers' prescribed capital amount coverage averaged 215% in 2022
New Zealand's insurance market is growing steadily but remains underdeveloped compared to international standards.
Claims and Payouts
- General insurance claims ratio was 68.4% in 2022
- Total general insurance claims paid out NZ$4.2 billion in 2022
- Natural disaster claims from Cyclone Gabrielle totalled NZ$1.8 billion in early 2023
- Motor vehicle claims frequency rose 4.2% to 12.5% in 2022
- Average home buildings claim size was NZ$28,500 in 2022
- Contents claims payouts totalled NZ$320 million in 2022, average claim NZ$4,200
- Fire claims number 8,500 in 2022, total payout NZ$450 million
- Earthquake claims residual from 2011 Canterbury totalled NZ$120 million in 2022
- Health insurance claims ratio reached 82.3% in 2022
- Life insurance claims paid NZ$1.05 billion in 2022
- Income protection claims averaged NZ$2,800 monthly payout in 2022
- Trauma claims number 4,200 in 2022, average payout NZ$85,000
- Terminal illness claims fast-tracked totalled NZ$45 million in 2022
- Workers' comp claims (private) NZ$210 million paid in 2022
- Public liability claims frequency 9.8% in 2022
- Professional indemnity claims totalled NZ$180 million in 2022
- Cyber claims payouts NZ$65 million in 2022, up 50% YoY
- Flood claims from 2022 events NZ$950 million
- Theft claims in motor insurance 15,200 cases, NZ$110 million paid 2022
- Medical malpractice claims NZ$95 million in 2022
- Product recall claims totalled NZ$42 million in 2022
- Business interruption claims NZ$520 million post-COVID in 2022
- Personal accident claims NZ$180 million paid in 2022
- Travel insurance claims for COVID-related NZ$75 million in 2022
- Farm property claims average NZ$45,000 per event in 2022
- Construction defect claims NZ$110 million in 2022
- Marine cargo claims NZ$55 million in 2022
- Aviation liability claims NZ$18 million in 2022
Claims and Payouts Interpretation
While Kiwis weathered a staggering $4.2 billion in general claims with admirable resilience—from $1.8 billion cyclone blows to rising fender-benders and expensive home repairs—the real story is a nation navigating a perilous tightrope, where cyberattacks and climate disasters are rapidly rewriting the actuarial playbook.
Market Size and Growth
- In 2022, the New Zealand general insurance market gross written premiums totalled NZ$6.47 billion, up 5.2% from 2021
- New Zealand's insurance industry penetration rate stood at 3.8% of GDP in 2022, below the OECD average of 8.1%
- The total assets of New Zealand insurers reached NZ$128.5 billion as of December 2022, reflecting a 7.1% year-on-year growth
- Life insurance direct premiums written grew by 3.4% to NZ$4.1 billion in 2022, driven by investment-linked products
- The number of licensed insurers in New Zealand increased to 82 in 2023 from 78 in 2022
- New Zealand insurance industry's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018-2022 was 4.2% for total premiums
- General insurance market share of property insurance was 28.4% of total GWP in 2022
- Health insurance premiums totalled NZ$1.9 billion in 2022, with a 6.8% growth rate
- Total reinsurance premiums ceded by NZ insurers amounted to NZ$1.2 billion in 2022
- The insurance density per capita in NZ was NZ$1,856 in 2022, up from NZ$1,780 in 2021
- Motor vehicle insurance GWP reached NZ$1.45 billion in 2022, comprising 22.4% of general insurance
- NZ compulsory third-party insurance market valued at NZ$850 million in 2022
- Fire and peril insurance premiums grew 8.2% to NZ$1.1 billion in FY2022
- Total insurance premiums as % of household disposable income was 2.9% in 2022
- Cyber insurance GWP in NZ surged 45% to NZ$120 million in 2022
- Pet insurance premiums reached NZ$45 million in 2022, with 12% annual growth
- Travel insurance sales post-COVID recovered to NZ$320 million in 2022/23
- Funeral insurance policies numbered 250,000 in 2022, premiums NZ$85 million
- Disability income insurance claims ratio averaged 78% in 2022
- Total managed funds in insurance-linked investments hit NZ$15 billion in 2022
- Insurance brokers handled 65% of commercial insurance premiums in 2022
- Direct channel sales grew to 28% of total general insurance premiums in 2022
- Embedded insurance products generated NZ$250 million in premiums in 2022
- Parametric insurance payouts totalled NZ$50 million for weather events in 2022
- Insurtech startups in NZ numbered 25, raising NZ$120 million in 2022
- Group life insurance premiums were NZ$650 million in 2022
- Standalone liability insurance GWP at NZ$420 million in 2022
- Marine insurance premiums totalled NZ$180 million, down 2% YoY in 2022
- Aerospace insurance market in NZ valued at NZ$35 million in 2022
- Total insurance exports (reinsurance accepted) NZ$300 million in 2022
Market Size and Growth Interpretation
While Kiwis are diligently insuring their cars, homes, and even pets to the tune of billions, the industry's modest slice of GDP suggests they're still optimistically betting more on their own luck than on a formal policy.
Policyholder Statistics
- Total active general insurance policies in NZ numbered 8.2 million in 2022
- Home insurance policies totalled 1.95 million in 2022, penetration 75% of households
- Motor insurance policies 3.1 million in 2022, 92% market penetration
- Life insurance coverage reached 2.8 million policies in 2022
- Health insurance policyholders numbered 1.42 million in 2022, 28% population coverage
- Income protection policies 450,000 in 2022
- Term life policies 1.2 million active in 2022
- Small business insurance policies 180,000 in 2022
- Commercial fleet motor policies 25,000 in 2022
- Cyber insurance policies grew to 12,500 in 2022
- Pet insurance policies 320,000 in 2022, up 18%
- Travel insurance policies sold 1.1 million in 2022/23
- Farmers with insurance coverage 95% of 52,000 farms in 2022
- Professional indemnity policies 95,000 for SMEs in 2022
- Directors & officers policies 28,000 companies in 2022
- Group health schemes covered 650,000 employees in 2022
- Funeral insurance policies 250,000 held by individuals over 50 in 2022
- Standalone liability policies 45,000 for community groups in 2022
- Parametric weather policies 5,200 active in 2022
- Key person policies 8,500 SMEs in 2022
- Marine hull policies 2,800 vessels in 2022
- Aviation policies 1,200 aircraft in 2022
- Construction project policies 4,500 sites in 2022
- Product liability policies 12,000 manufacturers in 2022
- Event insurance policies 15,000 events in 2022
- Overseas student health policies 180,000 in 2022
Policyholder Statistics Interpretation
New Zealanders, in a characteristically practical yet slightly anxious display, have woven a remarkably detailed safety net that proves we are collectively insuring against everything from forgetting to water the ferns to an asteroid strike on the shearing shed.
Premium Income
- General insurance net premiums earned were NZ$5.8 billion in 2022
- Life insurance new business annual premium equivalent (APE) totalled NZ$550 million in 2022
- Health fund membership premiums averaged NZ$2,450 per policyholder in 2022
- Motor own damage premiums increased 6.1% to NZ$780 million in 2022
- Home buildings insurance average premium rose to NZ$1,850 annually in 2022
- Contents insurance average annual premium was NZ$420 in 2022
- Commercial property insurance premiums totalled NZ$950 million in 2022
- Workers' compensation premiums (excl ACC) NZ$280 million in 2022
- Professional indemnity insurance GWP reached NZ$350 million in 2022
- Directors and officers (D&O) premiums totalled NZ$120 million in 2022
- Public liability insurance premiums NZ$520 million in 2022
- Term life insurance average annual premium NZ$650 for a 40-year-old in 2022
- Trauma insurance single premiums averaged NZ$15,000 in 2022
- Income protection insurance monthly premiums averaged NZ$85 in 2022
- Whole of life insurance premiums totalled NZ$220 million in 2022
- Annuity premiums written NZ$180 million in 2022
- Private health insurance employer-sponsored premiums NZ$750 million in 2022
- Dental insurance premiums NZ$140 million in 2022
- Optical cover premiums within health funds NZ$90 million in 2022
- Overseas visitor health insurance premiums NZ$210 million in 2022
- Farm insurance premiums totalled NZ$380 million in 2022
- Construction all-risks premiums NZ$160 million in 2022
- Product liability insurance GWP NZ$95 million in 2022
- Cyber liability premiums grew 35% to NZ$110 million in 2022
- Key person insurance premiums NZ$45 million in 2022
- Event cancellation insurance NZ$55 million in 2022
- Yacht insurance premiums NZ$28 million in 2022
- Aviation hull insurance NZ$22 million in 2022
Premium Income Interpretation
From life’s first breath to the final voyage, Kiwis are diligently funding a vast financial safety net, paying billions to ensure that everything from their homes and health to their yachts and cyber-security is covered against the unpredictable whims of fate.
Regulatory and Financial Metrics
- NZ insurers' average solvency ratio was 180% in 2022 under PSR regime
- Total regulatory capital held by general insurers NZ$4.8 billion in 2022
- Life insurers' prescribed capital amount coverage averaged 215% in 2022
- Insurance levies collected for EQC totalled NZ$650 million in FY2022
- FMA-conducted insurance supervision cost NZ$12.5 million in 2022/23
- Number of insurance conduct breaches reported 145 in 2022
- Fair Conduct Programme compliance rate 92% for top 10 insurers in 2022
- Insurance ombudsman cases resolved 5,200 in 2022, 85% in consumer favour
- Code Committee insurance complaints 1,850 upheld in 2022
- Cyber resilience standards adopted by 75% of insurers by 2022
- Climate risk disclosures mandated for insurers from 2023, 40% voluntary in 2022
- AML/CFT compliance fines on insurers totalled NZ$2.1 million in 2022
- Insurer investment in NZ bonds 35% of total assets in 2022
- Profit after tax for general insurers NZ$620 million in 2022, ROE 12.4%
- Expense ratio for general insurance averaged 28.5% in 2022
- Reinsurance recovery ratio 92% for catastrophe claims in 2022
- Investment yield on insurer assets 3.2% in 2022
- Combined operating ratio for general insurance 92.1% in 2022
- Liquidity coverage ratio average 250% for life insurers in 2022
- Number of insurer mergers/acquisitions 5 in 2022
- Insurtech regulatory sandbox participants 8 in 2022
- Consumer protection levy allocation to insurance NZ$4.2 million in 2022/23
- Solvency margin breaches zero for licensed insurers in 2022
Regulatory and Financial Metrics Interpretation
Despite boasting fortress-like balance sheets and regulators who watch them like hawks, New Zealand's insurers still manage to annoy enough customers to keep the ombudsman very busy, proving that financial solidity doesn't always equal seamless service.
Sources & References
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