Brand Finance’s Insurance 100 2026 shows scale, underwriting discipline, and trust driving brand value gains
LONDON, 28 May 2026 – Insurance brands are staging their fastest growth in five years, with the world’s top 100 reaching a combined USD606.7 billion in brand value, up 14% year on year, according to a new report from Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. The rise underscores resilient earnings and tighter underwriting discipline across global markets while China continues to be a major driver of global insurance brand value, supported by demographic trends and growing demand for protection and retirement products.
Brand Finance’s analysis shows that strong pricing, improved reserve positions, and higher investment income supported brand value growth through 2024 and early 2025. While pricing momentum is beginning to normalise in some commercial and reinsurance lines, overall profitability across much of the sector remains above long‑term averages.
This year marks Ping An Insurance’s 10th year as the most valuable brand in the ranking, with its brand value rising 19% to USD40 billion, underpinned by consistent performance across its insurance portfolio and strengthened risk management.
Allianz holds second place, with brand value up 31% to USD34.9 billion, benefiting from broad‑based growth across life, health, and property & casualty business lines and strong operating performance while Progressive moves into third place (brand value up 79% to USD25.4 billion), following rapid expansion in personal lines and significant improvements in profitability.
Growth dynamics across the ranking was led by Intact (brand value up 101% to USD4.3 billion), which recorded the fastest brand value growth overall largely driven by the completion of its RSA Insurance acquisition and expanded international footprint.
From a brand strength perspective, China Life Insurance ranks as the strongest insurance brand globally, achieving a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 93/100 and a strength rating of AAA+. LIC (BSI: 90.4/100, AAA+) and Ping An Insurance (BSI: 89.2/100, AAA) complete the global top three, reflecting the importance of trust, familiarity, and long‑standing customer relationships in the sector
Commenting on the findings, Alex Haigh, Managing Director, Brand Finance, said:
“The composition of this year’s ranking reinforces the growing influence of Asia alongside the continued strength of global incumbents. Brands such as Ping An and China Life illustrate how scale, long-term customer relationships, and ecosystem integration are driving sustained brand leadership, while Allianz highlights the advantages of geographic and product diversification. At the same time, the rise of Progressive and the rapid growth of Intact point to a more dynamic competitive landscape, where operational discipline, targeted expansion, and brand investment are accelerating change. In this environment, trust, transparency, and consistent delivery remain critical in converting financial performance into enduring brand strength.”
Sustainability perceptions are also playing a growing role in shaping insurance brands, accounting for 6% of brand consideration. Governance and transparency emerge as the most influential sustainability factors, particularly in relation to climate risk management and long‑term trust, with brands such as Gjensidige, PZU, LIC, and Sony Life performing strongly in sustainability perception measures.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
