How big is the German insurance market?
German insurers wrote 90,016.93 million EUR in life and 165,821.82 million EUR in non-life gross premiums in 2024 (OECD Global Insurance Statistics, reliability A). The non-life figure already includes private health at 51,951.77 million EUR, so health must not be added again. About 501.3 million insurance contracts were in force, 6.0 per capita and 12.0 per household (GDV table 8, reliability B).
Updated . Figures keep their period, source and reliability grade.
Key figures
| Metric | Value | Period | Source | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life gross written premiums | 90,016.93 million EUR | 2024 | OECD Global Insurance Statistics | A |
| Non-life gross written premiums, including private health | 165,821.82 million EUR | 2024 | OECD Global Insurance Statistics | A |
| Insurance contracts in force | 501.3 million contracts | 2024 | GDV table 8 | B |
| Contracts per household | 12.0 contracts | 2024 | GDV table 8 | B |
| Motor gross written premiums | 37,851.76 million EUR | 2024 to 2026 | OECD, GDV, BaFin, KBA | A |
| Property gross written premiums | 32,001 million EUR | 2024 | GDV 2025 tables 60 and 64 | B |
| Population | 83,577,140 persons | 2025 | Eurostat demo_pjan | A |
| Pension assets | 275,364.34 million EUR | 2024 | OECD Global Pension Statistics | A |
The answer
German insurers wrote 90,017 million EUR in life and 165,822 million EUR in non-life gross premiums in 2024 (OECD, reliability A). The two OECD rows together come to about 255,839 million EUR. The non-life figure already includes private health at 51,952 million EUR, so health must not be added a second time.
Germans held about 501.3 million insurance contracts in 2024, 6.0 per capita and 12.0 per household (GDV table 8, reliability B). Motor leads the non-life lines at 37,852 million EUR and property follows at 32,001 million EUR.
The numbers
Every figure behind this answer sits in the key figures table above, with its value, unit, period, source and reliability grade: A official statistics, B reconciled from published sources, C modelled estimate, D indicative.
How the number is built
The OECD rows are the anchor because they are consistent across countries and years. OECD counts private health inside non-life. A German-style split into life, health and property-casualty needs the health premium removed from non-life first.
Contract counts come from GDV and BaFin, and the two differ. GDV counts 132.4 million motor contracts, BaFin 137.92 million, because the reporting populations differ. The package keeps both rather than choosing one.
The travel figure is an estimate with a range. Accident and health premiums come from the package table at reliability C. Pension assets are separate: 275,364 million EUR across 11,604,234 participant accounts in 2024 (OECD, reliability A), and accounts are not unique people.
What it means for distribution
Per household, Germany carries 12 insurance contracts. That density suggests most sales are replacements, extensions or consolidations, not first policies. A distributor competes for the existing wallet, and the intermediary who holds the relationship holds the renewal.
Motor and property are contract-heavy and premium-light per contract. Life and health are the reverse. The 9,518,377 million EUR of household financial assets is the pool that life, pension and investment advice compete for.
Go deeper
- How is insurance distributed in Germany?: channel shares by line.
- German mortgage and consumer credit market: the credit side of the household balance sheet.
- Germany market intelligence: full package with evidence labels.
- EU market snapshot use case: the same discipline across 42 countries.
Related questions
- Why must health not be added to non-life?
- OECD counts private health inside non-life. Adding the 51,951.77 million EUR health premium again would double count. A German-style life, health and property-casualty split needs health removed from non-life first.
- Which is right, 132.4 million or 137.92 million motor contracts?
- Both are published. GDV counts 132.4 million and BaFin 137.92 million for 2024 to 2026, because their reporting populations differ. The package keeps both rather than choosing one.
- How large is the German pension pool?
- OECD reports 275,364.34 million EUR in pension assets and 11,604,234 participant accounts for 2024 (reliability A). Accounts are not unique people.
Methodology and limitations
The OECD premium rows are the anchor because they are consistent across countries and years, and OECD counts private health inside non-life. Contract counts come from GDV and BaFin, whose reporting populations differ, so both are kept. Travel, accident and health rows come from the package table at reliability C, and pension accounts are not unique people.
Primary sources
Explore Germany market intelligence