ACE/Chubb Merger Makes it a Major U.S. P/C Player: Fitch

April 25, 2016

The massive $29.5 billion ACE/Chubb merger in 2015 vaulted the combined company to seventh place in the U.S. property/casualty insurance market. But the remaining top 10 rankings saw few other changes compared to the previous year, Fitch Ratings determined in its latest report.

Fitch noted that Chubb’s post-merger ranking propelled it into seventh place based on industry direct premium volume, as well as second place in terms of commercial lines premiums, “approaching the level of perennial market leader American International Group.” (ACE and Chubb concluded their merger in January 2016.)

Still, there were other changes, year-over-year. The Allstate Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway moved to the second and third spots, respectively, ahead of Liberty Mutual Group, thanks to 2015 premium growth. But State Farm Mutual Automobile Group remained in first place by a significant margin, due to annual direct written premiums, Fitch said.

Overall, the top 10 P/C underwriters held 47 percent of direct market share as of the end of 2015, versus 46 percent in 2014. According to Fitch, the top 25 writers held 65 percent of the market, a consistent number for them.

For all lines, the rankings from 1 to 10 and respective U.S. P/C market shares for 2015 are as follows: State Farm (10), Allstate (5), Berkshire Hathaway (5), Liberty Mutual (5), Travelers (4), Progressive (4), Chubb Ltd. (4), Nationwide (3), AIG (3) and Farmers (3). In 2014, the 1-10 rankings from top to bottom: State Farm (10), Liberty Mutual (5), Allstate (5), Berkshire Hathaway (5), Travelers (4), Progressive (4), Nationwide (3), AIG (3), Farmers (3) and USAA (3).

Broken down further, Fitch noted that the top 10 commercial underwriters held a combined 40 percent U.S. market share in 2015. That compares to 35 percent in 2014. By contrast, the top 10 personal lines underwriters maintained a 66 percent market share in 2015.

AIG still leads the pack in terms of commercial lines market share, with 6 percent of the market. But that number was as high as 10 percent in 2009. Now, a post-merger Chubb ties AIG with a 6 percent share, along with Travelers. In 2014, Chubb placed in the number 8 slot, with a 3 percent share.

Source: Fitch Ratings