Life insurance premium growth set to slow worldwide, report says

International desk: The global life insurance industry is approaching a defining moment as structural pressure builds across almost every major market. Capgemini’s world life insurance report 2026 represents a clear picture of an industry that is no longer able to rely on its traditional promise- economic safeguard after death- as the primary driver of relevance, trust and long-term growth. With demographic shifts accelerating, economic uncertainty reshaping household priorities and younger consumers demanding more immediate value from economic products, life insurers are facing a future in which premium growth is expected to remain subdued through 2040 unless they fundamentally redesign what life insurance means and how it is experienced.

At the core of the report’s warning is a slow but important attrition in how consumers perceive life insurance in their broader financial lives. Over the past 15 years, the share of life insurance assets in personal investment portfolios has declined sharply, a trend that signals more than changing investment preferences. It reflects an underlying belief among many consumers that traditional life insurance is increasingly less compelling as an economic asset- often seen as darkened, slow to deliver value and difficult to align with modern lifestyles. In an era where financial decision is guided by flexibility, transparency and utility, products that feel distant or conditional struggle to maintain emotional and economic priority. This shift matters deeply because the long-term profitability and stability of life insurers depend on maintaining sustained participation and confidence across generations- not only at the moment of purchase, but across decades of continued premium payment.

According to Capgemini, the most strategic pressure point is the under-40 customer segment, which the report positions as the sector’s most significant growth market. These consumers represent the future of premium volume because they will build wealth over time and remain engaged with economic services longer than older partners. They are also attractive from a risk perspective because younger policyholders normally make fewer claims. Yet winning this part is increasingly difficult under the old model. Under-40 consumers have grown up in a digital-first economy where instant access, seamless service, personalisation and clear value exchange are basic expectations rather than differentiators. Many no longer find it rational to commit long-term money to a product whose core value is only felt after decades or in the event of death- especially when alternative platforms provide continuous financial guidance, lifestyle support and measurable benefits in real time.

This is where the report introduces what it views as the most credible route to renewed growth: the evolution of life insurance into ‘Insurance for Living.’ The concept highlights a shift from treating life insurance as primarily a factor of post-death safeguard to positioning it as a living, ongoing service that provides visible and usable value while the customer is alive. Capgemini suggests that customers increasingly want insurance to actively support their present needs- improving health awareness, strengthening economic resilience, supporting life planning and assisting manage everyday risks. In this model, life insurance becomes less of a distant promise and more of a continuous partnership. The strategic implication is powerful: when customers feel regular benefits, premiums are less likely to be perceived as a burdensome cost and more likely to be viewed as an exchange of value that reinforces trust and loyalty.

The report also highlights that life insurers are now competing in a broader arena than ever before. The threat is not simply another insurer with a lower premium; it is a growing ecosystem of banks, fintech firms, wellness platforms and digital financial service providers that are capturing consumers’ attention through integrated, experience-driven solutions. These competitors are more and more meeting younger customers where they live- on platforms that combine budgeting, investing, health tracking, rewards and guidance into unified systems designed for constant engagement. Life insurance, by contrast, has traditionally been intermittent in its relevance, often reduced to a document stored away after purchase. Capgemini’s analysis suggests that the sector’s risk is not only slower growth, but a gradual loss of customer relationship ownership- where the primary engagement, trust and daily financial habits shift toward other providers, leaving insurers with shrinking influence over consumers’ decision-making.