The brand value of the world’s leading insurers has been hit by $30 billion during the COVID pandemic.

Brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance has issued its annual Insurance 100 report which saw which the value of the world’s top 100 most valuable insurance brands has declined by 6%, decreasing from US$462.4 billion in 2020 to $433. billion in 2021.

China’s Ping An is still by far the world’s most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26% drop in brand value to $44.8 billion. The report stated the decline in brand value is largely attributable to the temporary drop in future earnings and revenue outlook, compared to the previous year. The brand has, however, already begun to show signs of a strong recovery as parts of the world begin to remerge from the pandemic, and therefore, if this trend continues, Ping An should see a solid increase in brand value in the coming year.

“Ping An has continued to reap the benefits of its Good Doctor app – the world’s leading online healthcare platform – which posted growth in both revenue and user traffic over the last year,” it adds. “The app has proved central to helping combat the repercussions of the pandemic through increasing the speed of diagnoses as well as through providing faster treatment services.”

China Life has also overtaken Allianz (down 19% to $20.2 billion) to claim second spot in the rankings after recoding a 4% decrease in brand value to $22.6 billion.

Three other Chinese brands feature in the top 10: CPIC (up 10% to US$15.4 billion) in fifth; AIA (down 22% to US$14.1 billion) in sixth; and PICC (down 20% to US$8.8 billion) in ninth. Overall, there are 12 Chinese brands featured in the ranking, with their cumulative brand value accounting for 30% of the total brand value.

“With access to a market as immense as China, this offers these brands huge potential to leverage a significant volume premium over many other markets,” added the report.

On the whole, US insurance brands have fared well compared to their international counterparts, with the 26 US brands recording a cumulative brand value growth of 14% year-on-year.

Declan Ahern, Director, Brand Finance, explained the pandemic and ist economic impact had hit the insurance sector harder than other business areas with the publicity around claims also impacting how the public view the sector.

“As predicted, insurance brands have taken a hit this year as they negotiate the fallout from the pandemic – from the near standstill of the global economy and prolonged low interest rates to slowing development across the sector in general,” he added. “They have, however, fared better than our initial predictions at the outbreak of last year, demonstrating the resilience of the world’s top insurance brands.”

China’s Ping An is still by far the world’s most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26% drop in brand value to $44.8 billion. The report stated the decline in brand value is largely attributable to the temporary drop in future earnings and revenue outlook, compared to the previous year.