Allianz’s Health Insurance Premiums Leap 12.3% as Buyback Hits 385,000 Shares in a Week

Health insurance leads global premium growth to €6.9 trillion, while Allianz continues €2.5B buyback, repurchasing 2.65M shares since March 2026.

The global insurance market expanded by 7.1% in 2025 to reach €6.9 trillion of premiums, comfortably outstripping the ten-year average of 5.6% — even if the exceptional 9.4% growth of 2024 was not repeated. One segment stole the show: health insurance. Premiums there jumped 12.3%, the strongest annual gain since 2014, pushing the sector’s volume to €1.688 trillion and making it the third-largest line of business worldwide behind life (€2.861 trillion) and property & casualty (€2.320 trillion). Allianz Research points to ageing populations, rising healthcare costs, and growing pressure on public systems as the main drivers.

Against that backdrop, Allianz has been quietly but steadily scooping up its own shares. Last week alone the insurer bought back 385,407 equities, paying an average price that ranged from €381.33 to €391.07 per share. Daily volumes fluctuated between 66,000 and 110,000 units, with the trades executed on Xetra and several multilateral trading facilities including CBOE DXE and Aquis-EU. Since the programme’s launch on 13 March 2026, Allianz has now accumulated 2.65 million of its own shares.

The buyback, authorised by the annual general meeting, has a total volume of up to €2.5 billion and is scheduled to conclude by the end of 2026. Roughly €0.3 billion — about twelve per cent of the ceiling — was already spent in the first quarter. The repurchased shares will be cancelled, underscoring management’s commitment to optimising the capital structure. The strong operational performance that underpins the programme was evident in the first-quarter figures: operating profit climbed 11.1% to €2.4 billion, core surplus surged 48.4% to €3.8 billion, and the Solvency II ratio stood at a robust 221%.

Despite the steady buying, the stock has edged lower. Allianz shares recently changed hands at €376.80, while a separate report noted the price at €376.10 — both about 4.6% to 5% below the 52-week high of €394.80 touched in April. The relative strength index of 73.9 points to a short-term overbought condition, yet the buyback continues on schedule. The broader market was supportive: the DAX gained 0.7% on Tuesday to 25,185 points, and the insurance sector has appeared more resilient than the banking segment amid the UniCredit-Commerzbank noise.

Life insurance remains the industry’s heavyweight, thanks largely to Asia. Premiums in the region rose 9.9% in 2025, with China alone notching up 11.4% growth. The property & casualty market, by contrast, is normalising after a hot spell: global P&C premiums expanded only 3.8% last year, well below the 8.5% expansion of 2024, as price cycles stabilise and claims cost increases moderate.

Allianz Research identifies geopolitical fragmentation as a new structural reality for the industry. While it adds operational complexity, it also generates demand for specialised cover in infrastructure, energy security, and political risk. The firm projects the global premium pool will grow at a compound annual rate of 5.3% over the next decade, reaching €12.129 trillion by 2036.

For the current business year, Michael Kolb of the ACREDIA Group (Allianz Trade) expects a gradual economic stabilisation but flags cyber threats and potential industrial payment defaults as key risks. Management, meanwhile, remains focused on its strategic vision to 2030, with particular emphasis on central and southeastern Europe.

The next weekly disclosure on the buyback programme is due in seven days. Allianz is scheduled to report second-quarter results on 7 August.