1) AXA
With over 102 million customers in 56 countries and an employee base of 157,000, AXA is one of the world’s leading insurance groups. Its main businesses are property an
operating in China as a result of its 50% acquisition of Tian Ping (a Chinese property and casualty insurer). In addition, the company acquired the non-life insurance operations of HSBC in Mexico. The AXA Group reported total revenues of €99 billion for fiscal year 2015.
2) Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group, a Switzerland-headquartered global insurance company, was founded in 1872. Zurich Group, together with its subsidiaries, operates in more than 170 countries, providing insurance products and services. The core businesses of Zurich include general insurance, global life and farmers insurance. With its employee strength of over 55,000, Zurich caters to the vast insurance needs of individuals and businesses of all sizes: small, mid-sized and large-sized companies and even multinational corporations.
Total revenues in 2015 were $60.568 billion.
3) China Life Insurance
China Life Insurance (Group) Company (LFC) is one of Mainland China’s largest state-owned insurance and financial services companies, as well as a key player in the Chinese capital market as an institutional investor. The origin of the company goes back to 1949 when the People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC) was formed. Its offshoot PICC (Life) Co. Ltd was created after parting ways with PICC in 1996. PICC (Life) Co. Ltd was renamed as China Life Insurance Company in 1999. The China Life Insurance Company was restructured in 2003 as China Life Insurance (Group) Company, which has seven subsidiaries. The businesses are spread across life insurance, pension plans, asset management, property and casualty, investment holdings and overseas operations.
The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and is the biggest public life insurance company in terms of market capitalization in the world.
4) Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) was founded in 1889 and is associated with Warren Buffet, who has transformed a mediocre entity into one of the largest companies in the world. Berkshire Hathaway is now a leading investment manager conglomerate, engaging in insurance, among other sectors such as rail transportation, finance, utilities and energy, manufacturing, services and retailing through its subsidiaries.
It provides primary insurance, as well as reinsurance of property and casualty risks. Companies like Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, and General Re, National Indemnity Company, Medical Protective Company, Applied Underwriters, U.S. Liability Insurance Company, Central States Indemnity Company and the Guard Insurance Group are subsidiaries of the group.
5) Prudential plc
Prudential plc (PUK) is an insurance and financial services brand with operations catering to 24 million customers across Asia, the U.S., the U.K and most recently Africa. Prudential was founded in United Kingdom in 1848. Prudential Corporation Asia, Prudential U.K., Jackson National Life Insurance Company and M&G Investments are the main businesses within the group. Jackson is a prominent insurance company in the United States, while Prudential U.K. is one of the leading providers of pension and life.
Prudential plc is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. It has approximately 22,308 employees worldwide, with assets under management worth £509 billion.