Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority reports lower 2025 investment returns for life insurers and pension funds and a non-life combined ratio down to 85.6%

The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority published its 2025 results report for insurance undertakings and pension funds, showing that reduced investment income lowered returns for life insurers and pension funds compared with 2024. For non-life insurers, pre-tax profitability fell mainly due to weaker investment income, while underwriting performance improved and the combined ratio declined. Lower gains from equity revaluations and realised equity sales were the main drivers of reduced investment income for life insurers and pension funds. Life insurers’ return in the collective portfolio was 7.0% in 2025 (7.3% in 2024) and the return in the investment choice portfolio fell to 11.8% (14.8%); fixed-income securities measured at amortised cost made up 38% of collective portfolio investments and the equity share was 27%. Pension funds’ return in the collective portfolio fell to 8.4% (10.2%), with private pension funds down to 8.5% (11.1%) and municipal pension funds down to 8.3% (9.4%); the equity share in pension funds’ collective portfolios was 43% at end-2025 (44% for private and 41% for municipal). For non-life insurers, profit before tax was 20% of insurance income in 2025 (26.2% in 2024), underwriting profitability improved to 14.5% (10.1%), and the combined ratio fell to 85.6% (91.1%) entirely due to a lower claims ratio, while the expense ratio increased by 2%.