Life Insurers Ended 2019 with $4.6 Trillion

The total value of U.S. life insurers’ cash and invested assets increased 5.3 percent between the end of 2018 and the end of 2019, to $4.6 trillion, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Capital Markets Bureau. Life insurers represent more than 4 percent of the nation's $100 trillion in net wealth, and life insurers’ assets support life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and annuity obligations for people who use insurance to protect themselves against mortality, morbidity, or longevity risk.

The value of life insurers’ corporate bond holdings increased $160 billion, or 8.7 percent, to $2 trillion in 2019; their mortgage assets increased $45 billion, or 8.4 percent, to $579 billion; and their derivatives-related assets increased $23 billion, or 41 percent, to $80 billion.