Definition
Institution or quasi-financial corporation primarily engaged in financial intermediation resulting from risk compensation, mainly in the form of direct insurance or reinsurance.
Further information
Direct insurance can be broken down into life insurance and non-life insurance (for example, fire insurance, civil liability insurance, motor insurance and sickness insurance). Reinsurance corresponds to risk-sharing operations between insurers. This subsector also includes mutual insurance entities which are owned by their policyholders. Social insurance, commonly referred to as “social security”, is not part of the insurance corporation subsector.
Insurance companies are classified in sector S.128 of the economic sectorisation, according to the European System of Accounts 2010, and are included in financial institutions (S.12). Sector S.128 comprises private insurance companies, non-profit insurance entites, and the Insurance Compensation Consortium.
Links to data tables
Update date: May 2025
