Life Insurance: Net Inflows in June 2024 Remain High
In June 2024, net inflows into life insurance continued their upward trend, reaching +2.8 billion euros for the sixth consecutive month.
Net inflows into life insurance in June 2024 remained high, driven by strong performance in “eurocroissance” funds—whose assets under management rose by 29% year-over-year—and the growing appeal of insurance-based retirement savings plans (PERs), which posted a 19% increase for the month. Households continue to prioritize savings amid an uncertain economic climate.
Steady Net Premium Inflows
In June 2024, life insurance premiums totaled 14.4 billion euros, down 6% from June 2023. However, this decline masks contrasting trends: premiums in euros rose by 4%, while those in unit-linked policies (UC) fell by 18%. Since the beginning of the year, premiums have increased by 10.3 billion euros, or 13%, to reach 91.4 billion euros. This upward trend is evident for both euro-denominated policies (+18%) and unit-linked policies (+5%). Contributions in UC accounted for 40% in June and 38% in the first half of the year, a slight decline compared to the full year of 2023 (40%).
Decline in Assets Under Management
Assets under management fell sharply by −2.0 billion euros in June 2024 compared to June 2023, a decline of −15%, to 11.6 billion euros. This decline was primarily driven by euro-denominated funds (−18%) and, to a lesser extent, unit-linked funds (−3%). Year-to-date, payouts are down by 3% compared to last year, at 75.1 billion euros. This decline is exclusively attributable to euro-denominated products (down 4.2 billion euros), while payouts for unit-linked products are up (up 1.5 billion euros).
Net inflows up
Net inflows remained high for the sixth consecutive month, at +2.8 billion euros in June 2024, up +1.1 billion euros compared to June 2023. They totaled +3.5 billion euros for unit-linked products and −0.7 billion euros for euro-denominated products. Year-to-date, inflows total +16.3 billion euros, an increase of +12.9 billion euros compared to the first six months of 2023.
Performance of “Eurocroissance” Funds
“Eurocroissance” funds continue to perform strongly. In the first half of 2024, contributions to these funds totaled 972 million euros, up 19% compared with the first half of 2023. Payouts totaled 335 million euros over the period (+22% compared to the first half of 2023). Net inflows rose by +18% year-over-year, reaching +636 million euros during the first half of 2024. As of the end of June 2024, assets under management in “Eurocroissance” funds totaled 9.8 billion euros (up 29% year-over-year) across 598,000 active contracts (up 27% year-over-year).
The Appeal of Insurance-Based PERs
In June 2024, contributions to insurance-based PERs totaled 838 million euros, representing a 19% increase compared to June 2023, with 76,300 new policyholders (up 9%). Net inflows reached 568 million euros, up 103 million euros, or 22%, from the previous month. In the first half of 2024, contributions to insurance-based PERs totaled 5.0 billion euros, up 26% compared to the first half of 2023. 65% of these contributions were in unit-linked funds. Net inflows totaled 3.4 billion euros, up 0.7 billion euros, or 26%, over the period.
PER Transfers and Assets Under Management
In May, 15,600 policyholders transferred funds from legacy retirement savings contracts to a PER, totaling 345 million euros. As of the end of June 2024, PERs had 6.3 million policyholders with assets under management totaling 82.9 billion euros. As of the end of December 2023, 10.1 million people held a PER, with assets totaling 102.8 billion euros. Excluding transfers from older plans, assets totaled 35.4 billion euros. As of that date, insurance companies accounted for 85% of these assets.
