Berkshire Hathaway Jumps Into Top Spot on AM Best’s Largest Insurer Ranking by Nonbanking Assets; UnitedHealth Group Retains Lead Position by Net Premiums Written
- January 05, 2026 08:26 AM (EST)
//BestWire// - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. moved ahead of Allianz SE to claim the top spot in AM Best’s ranking of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies by nonbanking assets, at $1.15 trillion, while UnitedHealth Group Inc. held onto its top spot by net premiums written (NPW) for an 11th straight year, growing NPW by 6.2% in 2024 to $308.8 billion.
AM Best released the rankings of the world’s largest global insurance companies, by nonbanking assets and NPW, in the January 2026 issue of Best's Review, available now. The two rankings are based on BestLink data and additional research.
Allianz SE held the No. 1 ranking by nonbanking assets for five straight years prior to the latest ranking. Despite dropping to No. 2, Allianz SE saw its nonbanking assets increase by 6.2% to $1.09 trillion. The rest of the top five remained the same from the previous ranking, with China Life Insurance (Group) Co., Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. and Prudential Financial Inc. ranked No. 3-5, respectively. Some of China’s largest insurance groups continued to report growth in their nonbanking assets, though the growth was partially offset by the Chinese yuan’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar by 3.2% in 2024.
The top 10 insurers by NPW were again dominated by health insurers, as four of the top five insurers were U.S.-based health companies. Centene Corp., Elevance Health Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Group retained their second, third and fourth positions, respectively. State Farm Group moved into the top five as it achieved the highest NPW percentage increase among the top 10, rising 16.4% to $114.47 billion.
The top 10 global insurers ranked by 2024 nonbanking assets are as follows:
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc., United States
- Allianz SE, Germany
- China Life Insurance (Group) Co., China
- Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., China
- Prudential Financial Inc., United States
- Legal & General Group Plc, United Kingdom
- AXA S.A., France
- Manulife Financial Corp., Canada
- MetLife Inc., United States
- Life Insurance Corp. of India, India
The top 10 global insurers ranked by 2024 NPW are as follows:
- UnitedHealth Group Inc., United States
- Centene Corp., United States
- Elevance Health, Inc., United States
- Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Group, United States
- State Farm Group, United States
- Humana Inc., United States
- China Life Insurance (Group) Co., China
- Allianz SE, Germany
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc., United States
- AXA S.A., France
Best’s Review is AM Best’s monthly insurance magazine, covering emerging issues and trends and evaluating their impact on the marketplace. For additional coverage of these rankings, please see the Best's Review site or visit the online edition at https://bestsreview.ambest.com/edition/2026/January/.
Best's Review also is available as part of a subscription to Best’s News & Research Service. To order by phone, contact Customer Service at +1 800 424 2378 when calling from the United States and Canada; or +44 20 7397 0272 from EMEA or Asia Pacific. Additional information on BestLink also is available.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.