Association of British Insurers (ABI)

The Big Daddy of the UK industry is The Association of British Insurers (ABI).

ABI guards the interests of around 400 companies who between them carve up no less than 97% of the UK market - everything from savings and pensions to life insurance, motor, home, health and travel.

Looking at the statistics, the question has to be asked - are we Brits the most insured people in the world?
It certainly looks like it.

UK Insurance Statistics

According to ABI, the UK insurance industry

• is the largest in Europe
• is the third largest in the world
• employs 354,000 people - a third of all financial services jobs
• accounts for 20% of investment in the stock market
• pays out £247 million a day in pension and life insurance benefits and £50 million a day in general insurance claims.

According to Home Office statistics -

• 78% of households have home contents insurance
• 63% have home buildings/structure insurance
• 71% have motor cover
• 49% have life insurance
• 16% have personal pensions
• 10% have medical cover

On average we pay

• £140 a year for home contents
• £171 a year for buildings/structure insurance
• £600 for medical insurance cover (medical cover is also provided through employers but there are no figures available for this)
• £919 a year for life insurance cover
• £1665 for personal pensions

So whether it's home, motor, medical or travel, most of us buy into insurance of some kind.

Every day the insurance business pays out £125 million in pension benefits. Not to be sniffed at when compared to the measly £115 million paid out daily by the UK Government in state pension provision.