The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway reported improved performance among life and non-life insurers in the first half of 2026, while pension fund returns declined slightly. Life insurers benefited from higher investment income, particularly equity valuation gains, and non-life insurers recorded stronger underwriting and investment results. Life insurers’ collective portfolio return rose to 7.8% from 5.9% a year earlier, while the investment choice portfolio return increased to 14.9% from 11.8%. Their collective portfolio equity allocation reached 29% as of June 30, up 3 percentage points from the end of 2025. Pension funds’ collective portfolio return edged down to 7.2% from 7.5%, reflecting weaker municipal pension fund performance and lower interest income, while private pension fund returns increased slightly to 7.5%. Non-life insurers’ pretax profit climbed to 23.3% of insurance revenue from 12.2%. The insurance service result rose to 17.7% from 12.6%, investment income increased by 5.3 percentage points to 7.7% of insurance revenue, and the combined ratio fell to 82.6% from 87.9%, mainly because of a lower claims ratio.
Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway reports higher life insurer returns and stronger non-life results in first half of 2026
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway reported higher life insurer returns and substantially stronger non-life insurer results in the first half of 2026. Life insurers’ collective portfolio return rose to 7.8%, while non-life insurers’ pretax profit reached 23.3% of insurance revenue and their combined ratio fell to 82.6%. Pension fund returns edged down to 7.2%.