UK insurers paid out £128 billion in claims in 2022, but the real story sits in how that money is being driven by shrinking motor frequency, rising home pressures, and costly liability injuries. From £50.2 billion in motor premiums to £174.2 billion of non life GWP and £1.9 trillion in assets under management, the 2022 dataset paints a sector that is both larger and more complex.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, UK insurers paid out £128 billion in claims across all lines
- Motor claims frequency fell 5% to 12.5% in 2022, average cost £4,200
- Home claims totaled 1.8 million in 2022, payouts £5.6 billion, claims ratio 72%
- In 2022, the UK insurance sector employed 318,000 people full-time equivalent
- Insurance brokers numbered 5,200 firms employing 45,000 in 2022
- Diversity: 45% women in insurance workforce in 2022, up from 42% in 2020
- In 2022, motor insurance premiums totaled £50.2 billion, up 14% YoY
- Home insurance GWP reached £7.8 billion in 2022, average household premium £347
- Employers' liability insurance claims cost £2.1 billion in 2022
- In 2022, UK life insurance new business premiums totaled £18.5 billion, up 8% YoY
- Protection insurance sales reached 2.1 million policies in 2022, average premium £25/month
- Group life insurance covered 25 million lives in 2022, premiums £1.2 billion
- In 2022, the UK insurance market's total gross written premiums (GWP) reached £290.4 billion, marking a 5% increase from 2021
- The UK insurance industry's contribution to GDP was £51.7 billion in 2022, equivalent to 1.9% of total UK GDP
- UK insurers held £1.9 trillion in assets under management as of end-2022, representing 40% of the UK's total financial assets
In 2022, UK insurers paid £128 billion in claims and grew total premiums to £290.4 billion.
Related reading
01 · Category
Claims And Underwriting20 stats
01
In 2022, UK insurers paid out £128 billion in claims across all lines
02
Motor claims frequency fell 5% to 12.5% in 2022, average cost £4,200
03
Home claims totaled 1.8 million in 2022, payouts £5.6 billion, claims ratio 72%
04
Injury claims under EL/PL cost £2.5 billion in 2022, 140,000 claims
05
Life insurance claims paid £15.2 billion in 2022, including 450,000 death claims
06
Fraudulent claims detected saved £1.3 billion in 2022, 150,000 cases
07
Average bodily injury claim severity up 8% to £22,000 in 2022
08
Whiplash claims reduced 20% post-reforms to 45,000 in 2022
09
Property damage claims ratio 55% in 2022 for general insurance
10
PMI claims utilization rate 42% in 2022, total £2.4 billion
11
Cyber claims notified 2,500 in 2022, average cost £320,000
12
Catastrophe claims from storms cost £1.2 billion in 2022
13
Denied claims rate averaged 8% across personal lines in 2022
14
Average settlement time for motor claims 25 days in 2022
15
EL injury claims success rate 75% in 2022
16
Travel claims payouts £1.1 billion in 2022, 1.2 million claims
17
Pet claims settlement ratio 95% in 2022
18
Large commercial claims over £1m numbered 850 in 2022
19
Underwriting profit for GI was £6.2 billion in 2022
20
Expense ratio for non-life insurers 28% in 2022
Interpretation
Claims And Underwriting Interpretation
In the UK claims and underwriting landscape, insurers paid out £128 billion in 2022 while improving loss management as motor claim frequency dropped 5% to 12.5% and £1.3 billion was saved through detection of 150,000 fraudulent cases.
02 · Category
Employment And Regulation20 stats
01
In 2022, the UK insurance sector employed 318,000 people full-time equivalent
02
Insurance brokers numbered 5,200 firms employing 45,000 in 2022
03
Diversity: 45% women in insurance workforce in 2022, up from 42% in 2020
04
FCA regulated 1,800 insurers and 38,000 intermediaries in 2022
05
Average salary in insurance £52,000 in 2022, 15% above national average
06
12% of workforce cyber-skilled in insurance per 2022 survey
07
Apprenticeships in insurance reached 4,500 starts in 2022
08
Regulatory fines totaled £120 million in 2022, mostly consumer duty breaches
09
Solvency II compliance cost insurers £450 million annually in 2022
10
Complaints to FOS from insurance: 185,000 in 2022, 65% upheld for consumers
11
PRA supervision covered 99% of premium income in 2022
12
Consumer Duty implementation affected 90% of firms by end-2022
13
Insurtech firms employed 15,000 in 2022, 20% growth
14
Actuarial vacancies 2,500 unfilled in 2022
15
Training spend per employee £2,100 in 2022
16
Regional employment: London 40% of total insurance jobs in 2022
17
Under-30s 18% of workforce in 2022
18
Brexit-related relocations created 1,200 jobs in UK insurance hubs in 2022
19
IFoA members in insurance 12,000 in 2022
20
Regulatory reporting submissions 1.2 million in 2022
Interpretation
Employment And Regulation Interpretation
In 2022, the UK insurance industry strengthened its Employment and Regulation stance with a workforce of 318,000 full-time equivalent roles and stronger governance under the FCA, alongside rising representation with women making up 45% of the workforce up from 42% in 2020.
03 · Category
General Insurance20 stats
01
In 2022, motor insurance premiums totaled £50.2 billion, up 14% YoY
02
Home insurance GWP reached £7.8 billion in 2022, average household premium £347
03
Employers' liability insurance claims cost £2.1 billion in 2022
04
Property insurance payouts for weather events totaled £1.4 billion in 2022
05
Commercial motor fleet policies numbered 1.2 million in 2022, premiums £8.5 billion
06
Liability insurance GWP was £12.3 billion in 2022, 14% growth
07
Travel insurance policies sold 15 million in 2022, GWP £2.9 billion
08
Pet insurance claims paid £850 million in 2022, average claim £1,200
09
Business interruption claims from Covid totaled £1.8 billion resolved by end-2022
10
Motor theft claims rose 12% to 120,000 in 2022, cost £500 million
11
Flood claims payouts were £530 million in 2022, affecting 25,000 homes
12
Private medical insurance subscribers 7.5 million in 2022, premiums £6.2 billion
13
Cyber insurance policies grew to 85,000 in 2022, premiums £1.2 billion
14
Construction insurance GWP £4.1 billion in 2022, claims ratio 65%
15
Average motor comprehensive premium £701 in Q4 2022, up 20% YoY
16
Home buildings premium inflation 11% in 2022
17
Public liability claims averaged £45,000 payout in 2022
18
GAP insurance add-ons on 25% of new cars in 2022, premiums £450 million
19
Marine cargo insurance GWP £2.3 billion in 2022
20
Directors & Officers (D&O) premiums up 25% to £1.1 billion in 2022
Interpretation
General Insurance Interpretation
In UK general insurance, growth is clearly led by motor and liability business with motor premiums rising to £50.2 billion in 2022 and liability GWP reaching £12.3 billion, both showing strong momentum despite weather-related property payouts of £1.4 billion.
More related reading
04 · Category
Life Insurance26 stats
01
In 2022, UK life insurance new business premiums totaled £18.5 billion, up 8% YoY
02
Protection insurance sales reached 2.1 million policies in 2022, average premium £25/month
03
Group life insurance covered 25 million lives in 2022, premiums £1.2 billion
04
Critical illness cover claims paid £1.1 billion in 2022, average payout £85,000
05
Term assurance policies in force numbered 18.4 million in 2022
06
Whole of life market GWP was £3.2 billion in 2022, 12% market share
07
Pension annuities sold 45,000 in 2022, total value £2.8 billion
08
Income protection claims rose 10% to 65,000 in 2022, total payouts £450 million
09
Life insurance persistency rate averaged 88% in year 1 for 2022 policies
10
Over-65s held 55% of life insurance policies in 2022
11
Digital life insurance quotes grew 40% to 12 million in 2022
12
Guaranteed premiums now standard in 95% of life policies post-2022 reforms
13
Life insurers' solvency ratio averaged 210% in 2022
14
PRT deals numbered 15 in 2022, transferring £25bn liabilities
15
Equity release lending hit £4.1 billion in 2022, 12% growth
16
Funeral plans sold 180,000 in 2022, market value £1.5 billion
17
Life insurance complaints to FOS totaled 5,200 in 2022, up 15%
18
Average life cover amount was £175,000 for new policies in 2022
19
Women represented 45% of life policyholders in 2022
20
Joint policies accounted for 62% of new life sales in 2022
21
Lapse rates for life policies were 4.2% in 2022
22
Life insurance ad spend was £120 million in 2022
23
28% of UK adults have no life cover in 2022
24
Average term length for term assurance was 22 years in 2022
25
Life sector investment return was 3.8% in 2022 despite market volatility
26
Overseas life business GWP £4.5 billion in 2022
Interpretation
Life Insurance Interpretation
In the UK life insurance market, new business premiums rose to £18.5 billion in 2022, and protection demand stayed strong with 2.1 million policies sold at an average £25 per month, signaling solid momentum for life cover consumers even as claims for critical illness reached £1.1 billion.
05 · Category
Market Size And Growth30 stats
01
In 2022, the UK insurance market's total gross written premiums (GWP) reached £290.4 billion, marking a 5% increase from 2021
02
The UK insurance industry's contribution to GDP was £51.7 billion in 2022, equivalent to 1.9% of total UK GDP
03
UK insurers held £1.9 trillion in assets under management as of end-2022, representing 40% of the UK's total financial assets
04
The non-life insurance segment accounted for 60% of total GWP in 2022, totaling £174.2 billion
05
Life and pensions insurance GWP grew by 4.2% to £116.2 billion in 2022, driven by pension risk transfer deals
06
The UK insurance market saw 1,200 new product launches in 2022, a 15% rise from 2021
07
Insurance penetration rate in the UK stood at 11.8% of GDP in 2022, above the European average of 9.2%
08
The sector's return on equity (RoE) averaged 10.5% in 2022, up from 7.8% in 2021
09
UK insurance M&A activity reached 450 deals in 2022, valued at £12.5 billion
10
Digital insurance sales accounted for 42% of new policies in 2022, up from 35% in 2020
11
The market's combined ratio for non-life insurance improved to 92.1% in 2022 from 95.3% in 2021
12
UK insurance exports generated £8.7 billion in 2022, primarily reinsurance services
13
There were 1,050 active insurers licensed in the UK as of 2022, down 2% from 2021 due to consolidations
14
Insurtech investment in the UK totaled £2.1 billion in 2022 across 180 startups
15
The sector's solvency coverage ratio averaged 180% under Solvency II in 2022
16
Premium growth rate for the UK market was 7.1% in real terms in 2022
17
Household insurance density reached £2,450 per capita in 2022
18
Commercial insurance GWP hit £85 billion in 2022, up 6.8%
19
The market's total equity capital stood at £210 billion in 2022
20
Insurance intermediation turnover was £28.4 billion in 2022, employing 400,000 people
21
Cyber insurance premiums grew 25% to £1.2 billion in 2022
22
Pet insurance policies reached 4.5 million in 2022, premiums £1.4 billion
23
Travel insurance GWP was £2.9 billion in 2022, recovering 80% from pre-pandemic levels
24
Motor insurance market share of personal lines was 52% in 2022
25
Home insurance average premium rose 12% to £350 annually in 2022
26
Pension risk transfer volumes hit £25 billion in 2022
27
Reinsurance recoverables for UK insurers were £45 billion in 2022
28
The sector paid £14.5 billion in corporation tax in 2022
29
Embedded insurance partnerships grew 30% to 500 in 2022
30
UK insurance density was £4,300 per capita in 2022, highest in Europe
Interpretation
Market Size And Growth Interpretation
In 2022 the UK insurance market strengthened its scale and momentum with £290.4 billion in total gross written premiums, up 5% from 2021, showing steady growth across both life and pensions and the non-life segment within the Market Size And Growth category.
report visual · Breakdown
UK insurance: claims, profits and employment (2022)
A quick snapshot of major outcomes for UK insurers in 2022: total claims paid, underwriting profit and sector employment.
5%
Motor claims frequency fell 5% to 12.5% in 2022, average cost £4,200
95%
Pet claims settlement ratio 95% in 2022
Reference
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APA
Sophie Moreland. (2026, February 13). Uk Insurance Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-insurance-industry-statistics
MLA
Sophie Moreland. "Uk Insurance Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/uk-insurance-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Sophie Moreland. 2026. "Uk Insurance Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-insurance-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
65 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level