How big is the Life Insurance marketplace in Massachusetts?
As we have done in past years, over the coming weeks, Agency Checklists will be feature various top ten lists of the largest writers of various lines of insurance in Massachusetts. All of our information comes courtesy of the Division of Insurance and includes data from 2016, the last year for which complete information is available.
With the news this week of MassMutual’s renewed focus on Massachusetts, following suit with Mapfre’s earlier announcement and in comparison to Liberty Mutual’s recent announcement that it was selling off its life business, Agency Checklists thought it would be interesting to take a look at exactly how much Life Insurance is actually written here in the Commonwealth.
In comparison with other lines of insurance, Life Insurance is one of the larger lines of insurance in Massachusetts. Total Direct Written Premium was $3,632,026,941 dollars in the Commonwealth in 2016.
A total of 357 insurers write this line of insurance in Massachusetts
As for who writes all of this Direct Written Premium, there are three hundred and fifty-seven (357) insurers that are licensed to write Life Insurance in Massachusetts.
Of that group, three “Massachusetts-based” insurers are part of the Top 20 writers in this line of insurance:
- MassMutual
- SBLI of MA
- Primerica
Premium and market share for the Top 10 and 20 insurers…
Some more data that you might find interesting about this line of insurance:
- The top 20 insurers have over half the market share with their Direct Written Premium totaling $2,341,079,457.
- This amount represents a 64.5% share of the market.
- The remaining 337 companies represent 35.5% of the market with $1,290,947,484 dollars in Direct Written Premium.
- Focusing on the Top Ten Insurers in this line, these ten companies claim a 49.27% share of the market with $1,789,769,440 in Direct Written Premium.
So who are actually the largest writers of this line of business…
| Company Name | State | Premium Written in MA | Market Share in MA |
| 1. Northwestern Mut Life Ins Co | WI | $287,017,129 | 7.90% |
| 2. Metropolitan Life Ins Co | NY | $223,613,314 | 6.16% |
| 3. New York Life Ins Co | NY | $200,447,533 | 5.52% |
| 4. Lincoln Natl Life Ins Co | IN | $183,104,770 | 5.04% |
| 5. John Hancock Life Ins Co USA | MI | $177,034,828 | 4.87% |
| 6. Massachusetts Mut Life Ins Co | MA | $173,907,317 | 4.79% |
| 7. The Savings Bank Life Ins Co Of MA | MA | $164,067,480 | 4.52% |
| 8. Guardian Life Ins Co Of Amer | NY | $160,612,493 | 4.42% |
| 9. Brighthouse Life Ins Co | DE | $112,686,528 | 3.10% |
| 10. Pruco Life Ins Co | AZ | $107,278,048 | 2.95% |
| 11. Prudential Ins Co Of Amer | NJ | $106,307,340 | 2.93% |
| 12. Hartford Life & Accident Ins Co | CT | $55,323,333 | 1.52% |
| 13. American Gen Life Ins Co | TX | $55,082,044 | 1.52% |
| 14. New York Life Ins & Ann Corp | DE | $54,144,754 | 1.49% |
| 15. Liberty Life Assur Co Of Boston | NH | $49,791,655 | 1.37% |
| 16. RiverSource Life Ins Co | MN | $49,655,738 | 1.37% |
| 17. Transamerica Life Ins Co | IA | $47,016,283 | 1.29% |
| 18. Unum Life Ins Co Of Amer | ME | $46,375,964 | 1.28% |
| 19. United Of Omaha Life Ins Co | NE | $44,831,072 | 1.23% |
| 20. Primerica Life Ins Co | MA | $42,781,834 | 1.18% |
The Life All Lines Category is even bigger…
The Division has a couple of lists devoted to life insurance. In addition to the listing of Life, above, the DOI also has another list entited “LIFE ALL LINES.” When all said and down, this is an even bigger part of the Massachusetts insurance industry, with Total Direct Premium totaling $17,554,729,359.
As for the breakdown of this list:
- A total of 389 companies currently write Life All Lines in Massachusetts.
- Of that group, the Top 20 companies had Total Direct Written Premium of $11,074,466,222 equaling a 63.1% market share.
- The remaining 369 companies have a 36.9% share which translates into $6,480,263,137 dollars in Direct Written Premium.
A look at the top insurers in the “Life All Lines” category…
| Company Name | State | Premium Written in MA | Market Share in MA |
| 1. Metropolitan Life Ins Co | NY | $1,362,288,787 | 7.76% |
| 2. Massachusetts Mut Life Ins Co | MA | $1,168,480,985 | 6.66% |
| 3. UnitedHealthcare Ins Co | CT | $ 1,096,467,052 | 6.25% |
| 4. John Hancock Life Ins Co USA | MI | $874,420,555 | 4.98% |
| 5. Teachers Ins & Ann Assoc Of Amer | NY | $721,802,158 | 4.11% |
| 6. New York Life Ins & Ann Corp | DE | $ 689,419,732 | 3.93% |
| 7. Jackson Natl Life Ins Co | $557,023,163 | 3.17% | |
| 8. Voya Retirement Ins & Ann Co | CT | $ 480,443,463 | 2.74% |
| 9. New York Life Ins Co | NY | $465,134,729 | 2.65% |
| 10. Lincoln Natl Life Ins Co | IN | $462,180,022 | 2.63% |
| 11. Prudential Ins Co Of Amer | NJ | $392,599,513 | 2.24% |
| 12. Northwestern Mut Life Ins Co | WI | $374,020,840 | 2.13% |
| 13. Principal Life Ins Co | IA | $347,535,566 | 1.98% |
| 14. Great W Life & Ann Ins Co | CO | $344,658,994 | 1.96% |
| 15. Pruco Life Ins Co | AZ | $324,055,983 | 1.85% |
| 16. AXA Equitable Life Ins Co | NY | $ 294,406,734 | 1.68% |
| 17. Nationwide Life Ins Co | OH | $291,436,871 | 1.66% |
| 18. American Gen Life Ins Co | TX | $285,626,014 | 1.63% |
| 19. Allianz Life Ins Co Of N Amer | MN | $277,599,548 | 1.58% |
| 20. Aetna Life Ins Co | CT | $ 264,865,513 | 1.51% |