Life and health insurance premium production rose 22.5% in the first quarter of 2026, reaching €933.9 million—up from €762.4 million in the same period of 2025, according to data from the Hellenic Federation of Insurance Companies (HFIC), which surveyed 20 insurers representing 99.5% of the sector’s total output.
Individual Policies Lead Growth
The increase was driven primarily by individual life insurance policies, which grew 25.3% to €728.5 million. Group policies also rose, albeit more modestly, by 13.9% to €203.4 million. Meanwhile, reinsurance acceptances declined by 18.4%.
Investment-Linked Products Fuel Expansion
A key catalyst behind the surge was investment-linked life insurance products (unit-linked), whose premium production jumped 54.3% to €385.4 million. These products now account for 52.9% of total individual policy production—up from 43% in Q1 2025.
New Business Soars Amid Higher Premiums
New business volume climbed even more sharply—up 59.1% year-on-year to €279.3 million. This growth was almost entirely attributable to individual policies, where new business surged 64.3%. Notably, investment-linked products made up 92.9% of all new individual policies issued. The total number of active policies increased only marginally—by 1.9% to 1.8 million—indicating that the strong revenue growth stemmed largely from higher premium amounts, especially one-off payments tied to investment-oriented products.
Claims and Distribution Channels
Total claims paid amounted to €670.7 million, a modest 1.3% increase year-on-year. Claims under individual policies rose 4.1%, while those under group policies fell 7.7%.
In terms of distribution, bank partnerships (bancassurance) further strengthened their dominance in individual life insurance, capturing 46.5% of production—up from 40.4% a year earlier. Overall bancassurance production rose 44.4%.