Insurance industry investment (edition 2020)

This report provides a comparative view of the distribution of insurance entities’ investments by asset type in a selection of markets, including four of the world’s largest (Eurozone, United States, Japan and United Kingdom), as well as Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. Presenting information from 2008 to 2018, traditional investment portfolios (in which the investment risk stays on the insurance entities’ balance sheets) was distinguished from investments where the policyholder bears the risk, wherever possible. The study is completed with an analysis of the 2018 information regarding the investment portfolios of six large European insurance groups with global operations, and a comparison of the applicable gross capital charges required for the most representative investment portfolio categories of the insurers using the Solvency II standard formula.