Swedish Life Insurance BY rntnuatn8787 Sweden There are about 410 registered insurance companies in Sweden. Most of them are small local nonlife insurance companies. The market is concentrated into a few large companies and company groups. In life insurance the five largest insurance companies/groups have 53 per cent of the market. The international presence has increased in the past ten years. At present there are 38 foreign insurance companies represented via branches or agencies.
Insurance Employment The insurance industry employs about 20,000 people.This is equivalent to a half percent of all gainfully employed people in Sweden. Slightly more women than men work in the insurance industry. There are many different Jobs in the insurance industry.
Common occupations are actuary, claims adjuster, economist and lawyer. The level of education has increased steadily in the past ten years. Insurance in Sweden In Sweden 95 per cent of all households have home insurance. Most employees have occupational pension insurance and a large proportion of the population also have rivate insurance policies.
In recent years the number of private health care insurance policies also increased substantially. In 2012 Life insurance companies paid out over SEK 77 billion in pensions and death benefit. Pension in Sweden The Swedish pension system has three parts: national pension, occupational pension and private pension.
About 2 million people had private pension savings in 2011. In the age group 35-59 about 45 per cent had a private pension policy. Average savings for these were SEK 5,700 per person.Private pension insurance is classified for taxation purposes either as pension insurance or endowment insurance. Premium income for private pension and endowment insurance was more than SEK 53 billion in 2012.
The policies classified as endowment insurance constitute over 77 per cent of all private pension insurance. Private pension insurance can be divided into unit-linked insurance and other life insurance. Of these, other life insurance is greatest by volume. Other life insurance includes traditional life insurance and deposit insurance.
During the latest year, savings in endowment insurance has decreased, probably due to people choosing investments savings accounts to a greater extend. The most common form of saving for Swedish households is insurance. The share of insurance was almost 52 per cent of total household saving 2012. Other types of savings are bank accounts, shares or mutual funds. The financial crisis in 2008 was, however, less than for shares and funds, for example.
Insurance companies The insurance industry can be divided into non-life and life insurance.In life nsurance the risk is associated with the life and health of the person insured. Many life insurance products are also a form of saving. Life insurance pays compensation when the person insured is injured or dies, and when the insured person reaches pensionable age.
Insurance products that contain both insurance and savings components are called pension insurance. In 2012 premium income for pension insurance policies amounted to SEK 185 billion. Pension insurance can be divided into occupational pension and private pension insurance.There are two basic axation categories for the latter: pension insurance or endowment insurance.
Gross Written Premium for life insurance was SEK 185 billion in 2012. The five largest life insurance companies are Skandia, Folksam, Alecta, AMF Pension and SEB Trygg Insurance companies’ investments Insurance companies are major investors in the global economy. They manage a lot of money for the benefit of their customers. At the end of 2012 insurance companies investment assets amounted to more than SEK 3,165 billion. That corresponds to about 89 per cent of Sweden’s GDP.The capital is mainly invested in shares, mutual funds and debt securities, as well as real property and infrastructure. Life insurance companies manage pension capital on behalf of their customers. They therefore have a long investment horizon that corresponds to these commitments.
The value of life insurance companies’ investment assets was SEK 2,665 billion at the close of 2012. Life Insurance Products Pension Insurance or endowment insurance can choose between unit linked, unit linked insurance with a guaranteed minimum value or traditional insurance