According to our database, a total of more than 7.4M businesses operate in the UK. More than 1M of them operate in the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate sector - that’s 13.41% of all companies registered in the country. These companies have a share of 42.98% of all sales generated by UK-based businesses and employ 25.26% of all UK employees.
All data used in this overview is available in individual companies’ annual reports.
Legal and General Assurance Society Limited was the largest company in terms of sales in 2021
The company with the highest sales was Legal and General Assurance Society Limited, which offers a range of insurance products, including life insurance, critical illness cover, and home insurance. The company had sales of GBP 55.8B in 2021, which is a more than 4-fold increase compared to 2020.
Legal and General Assurance (Pensions Management), which is a leading UK-based financial services company, was second. The company provides pension management services to individuals and businesses in the UK. Its total sales were just under GBP 35B in 2021, which is almost three billion more than in 2020. Legal and General Assurance (Pensions Management) sales performance in 2020 and 2021 was still weaker than in 2019.
The third company in terms of sales was Scottish Widows Limited which is a leading UK-based financial services company that provides insurance, pensions, and investment products to customers. It is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. In 2021, it achieved sales of more than GBP 21.1B, which represents a GBP 9B increase compared to 2020.
UK: Sales of TOP 10 insurance companies in 2021 (in GBP)
Scottish Equitable plc was fourth with 2021 sales of GBP 13.6B (year-on-year increase of more than GBP 2B). It provides a range of insurance products, including life insurance, pensions, and investments. Scottish Equitable plc is a subsidiary of Aegon N.V., a Dutch multinational life insurance and pensions company.
Aviva International Insurance Limited was fifth. In 2021, this company generated GBP 13.5B in sales (a year-on-year decrease of more than GBP 700M). It offers various insurance products and services to individuals and businesses around the world. Aviva International Insurance Limited is a subsidiary of Aviva plc, a multinational insurance company headquartered in London, UK.
Standard Life Assurance Limited was sixth. The company generated more than GBP 11B in sales in 2021 (an increase of more than GBP 2B year-on-year.) Standard Life Assurance Limited provides life insurance, pensions, and savings products to customers in the UK.
BlackRock Life Limited was seventh. It offers life insurance products and retirement solutions to customers in the UK. BlackRock Life Limited earned more than GBP 7.7B in 2021 (an increase of around GBP 1.5B year-on-year). The company is a subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest investment management firms in the world.
Phoenix Life Limited was eighth with sales of GBP 6.5B in 2021 (an increase of more than GBP 100M compared to 2020). Phoenix Life Limited is a life insurance and pensions company based in the UK. It offers a range of products and services designed to help customers plan for their future financial security.
Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited was ninth. The company generated GBP 4.7B in sales in 2021 (a decrease of less than a billion pounds compared to 2020). Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited provides pension buy-out solutions to UK pension schemes. It helps pension scheme trustees and sponsors manage the financial risks associated with their pension schemes.
The last company on our TOP 10 list is U K Insurance Limited with sales of GBP 2.9B in 2021 (a decrease of less than three million pounds year-on-year). It offers a range of insurance products, including motor, home, and travel insurance. U K Insurance Limited is a subsidiary of Direct Line Insurance Group plc, one of the largest personal lines insurance companies in the UK.
UK: Sales of TOP 10 insurance companies between 2018 and 2021 (in GBP)
| Company | Financial Statements |
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal and General Assurance Society Limited | Unconsolidated | £ 8,046,000,000 | £ 5,969,000,000 | £ 13,577,000,000 | £ 55,851,000,000 |
| Legal and General Assurance (pensions management) | Unconsolidated | £ -10,352,900,000 | £ 46,585,100,000 | £ 32,167,400,000 | £ 34,977,400,000 |
| Scottish Widows Limited | Consolidated | £ 4,709,000,000 | £ 25,235,000,000 | £ 13,056,000,000 | £ 22,111,000,000 |
| Scottish Equitable Plc | Unconsolidated | £ 3,069,300,000 | £ 17,293,800,000 | £ 10,907,500,000 | £ 13,652,000,000 |
| Aviva International Insurance Limited | Unconsolidated | £ 6,397,000,000 | £ 16,803,000,000 | £ 14,387,000,000 | £ 13,521,000,000 |
| Standard Life Assurance Limited | Unconsolidated | £ -3,785,000,000 | £ 17,866,000,000 | £ 8,830,000,000 | £ 11,025,000,000 |
| Blackrock Life Limited | Unconsolidated | £ -2,979,279,000 | £ 12,088,146,000 | £ 6,252,280,000 | £ 7,779,660,000 |
| Phoenix Life Limited | Unconsolidated | £ 635,000,000 | £ 8,585,000,000 | £ 6,429,000,000 | £ 6,599,000,000 |
| Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited | Consolidated | £ 7,150,000,000 | £ 7,186,000,000 | £ 5,649,000,000 | £ 4,702,000,000 |
| U K Insurance Limited | Consolidated | £ 3,089,500,000 | £ 2,984,900,000 | £ 2,960,800,000 | £ 2,957,400,000 |
Legal and General Assurance Society Limited had the highest profit both before and after tax in 2021
In terms of pre-tax profit, Legal and General Assurance Society Limited was the largest company in 2021 with a profit of more than GBP 1.9B. Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited was second with a profit before tax of GBP 393M (GBP 276M the year before). Legal and General Assurance (pensions management) was third with GBP 376M. U K insurance Limited was fourth with GBP 334.7M.
Other companies had a pre-tax profit of less than GBP 300M and one had a loss: Aviva International Insurance Limited (GBP 172M), Scottish Widows Limited (GBP 132M), Standard Life Assurance Limited (GBP 111M), Scottish Equitable Plc (GBP 17.2M), Blackrock Life Limited (GBP 4.9M), Phoenix Life Limited (GBP -216M).
UK: Earnings before tax of TOP 10 insurance companies between 2018 and 2021 (in GBP)
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal and General Assurance Society Limited | £ 1,430,000,000 | £ 1,341,000,000 | £ 1,094,000,000 | £ 1,914,000,000 |
| Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited | £ 477,000,000 | £ 394,000,000 | £ 276,000,000 | £ 393,000,000 |
| Legal and General Assurance (pensions management) | £ 271,400,000 | £ 305,200,000 | £ 265,200,000 | £ 376,200,000 |
| U K Insurance Limited | £ 422,900,000 | £ 369,500,000 | £ 386,900,000 | £ 334,700,000 |
| Aviva International Insurance Limited | £ 797,000,000 | £ 1,174,000,000 | £ -962,000,000 | £ 172,000,000 |
| Scottish Widows Limited | £ 421,000,000 | £ 69,000,000 | £ -257,000,000 | £ 132,000,000 |
| Standard Life Assurance Limited | £ 561,000,000 | £ 203,000,000 | £ 258,000,000 | £ 111,000,000 |
| Scottish Equitable Plc | £ 157,300,000 | £ -44,200,000 | £ 76,200,000 | £ 17,200,000 |
| Blackrock Life Limited | £ 40,547,000 | £ -5,843,000 | £ 28,199,000 | £ 4,940,000 |
| Phoenix Life Limited | £ 463,000,000 | £ 577,000,000 | £ 446,000,000 | £ -216,000,000 |
The ranking changes when net profit is compared. The first and second companies were the same, namely Legal and General Assurance Society Limited with a net profit of GBP 1.55B and Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited with a net profit of GBP 254M.
Legal and General Assurance (pensions management) was third with a net profit of GBP 232M, Aviva International Insurance Limited was fourth (GBP 139M), Standard Life Assurance Limited was fifth (GBP 36M), Scottish Equitable Plc was sixth (GBP 22.9M), and Blackrock Life Limited was seventh (GBP 13.7M). In 2021, Scottish Widows Limited and Phoenix Life Limited had a loss with GBP -8M and GBP -211M respectively.
UK: Earnings after tax of TOP 10 insurance companies between 2018 and 2021 (in GBP)
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal and General Assurance Society Limited | £ 1,195,000,000 | £ 1,100,000,000 | £ 903,000,000 | £ 1,550,000,000 |
| Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited | £ 386,000,000 | £ 319,000,000 | £ 222,000,000 | £ 311,000,000 |
| U K Insurance Limited | £ 342,700,000 | £ 299,300,000 | £ 313,500,000 | £ 254,800,000 |
| Legal and General Assurance (pensions management) | £ 220,200,000 | £ 222,300,000 | £ 239,700,000 | £ 232,500,000 |
| Aviva International Insurance Limited | £ 637,000,000 | £ 951,000,000 | £ -745,000,000 | £ 139,000,000 |
| Standard Life Assurance Limited | £ 519,000,000 | £ 50,000,000 | £ 184,000,000 | £ 36,000,000 |
| Scottish Equitable Plc | £ 159,500,000 | £ -68,500,000 | £ 63,400,000 | £ 22,900,000 |
| Blackrock Life Limited | £ 24,920,000 | £ 16,732,000 | £ 13,365,000 | £ 13,772,000 |
| Scottish Widows Limited | £ 415,000,000 | £ -21,000,000 | £ -164,000,000 | £ -8,000,000 |
| Phoenix Life Limited | £ 481,000,000 | £ 381,000,000 | £ 340,000,000 | £ -211,000,000 |
