Insurance Searches for Growth Drivers

There's Growth. But Not the Right Kind

Russia's insurance market posted record premium collections of around 4 trillion rubles in 2025, up 7% from the previous year. At first glance, the industry appears to be showing steady growth, but Russia still lags far behind developed markets. Insurance premiums as a share of GDP remain at 1.9%, while in OECD countries this figure ranges from 6 to 9%.

We spoke with insurance companies and experts and asked them to explain: what's behind the numbers, and when will Russian insurance become truly mass-market?

Half the Market Isn't Really Insurance

To understand the nature of the growth, we need to break down the structure of those 4 trillion rubles. Life insurance accounted for 2.2 trillion rubles (about 57% of the total market), confirming its status as the largest segment. Non-credit life insurance (Накопительное страхование жизни and Инвестиционное страхование жизни) grew by 11.2%, while all other segments combined added just 2.2%. In other words, Russia's insurance market is largely growing not where insurers cover actual risks—property losses, health impairment, unforeseen expenses. It's growing where it competes with bank deposits.

Director of the Strategic Analysis Center at IngosstrakhEvgenia Vasilyevaexplains this dynamic plainly: demand for НСЖ surged due to tax arbitrage between life insurance and deposits. Simply put, people were chasing tax breaks, not insurance protection. This doesn't mean that ИСЖ and НСЖ are low-quality products.

"It's a genuinely long-term protective savings product with transparent returns, guarantees, and a clear insurance component,"Vasilyeva emphasizes.

But herein lies the explanation for why market growth doesn't translate into increased actual insurance coverage for citizens. One trillion in a quasi-deposit (НСЖ or ИСЖ) and one trillion in home insurance are fundamentally different things for the risk economy.

Where Protection Is Needed, Growth Is Modest

While life insurance enjoys double-digit growth, segments directly related to protecting citizens' property and health are growing significantly slower.

Property insurance for individuals grew 8.5% in 2025 to 136.9 billion rubles, while corporate property insurance showed +12.9%, reaching 170.3 billion rubles. The numbers are good, but in a 4 trillion ruble market this is a niche story—and the double-digit growth stems from a low base effect. According to VSK analysts, only 15% of homeowners in Russia have property insurance policies, which keeps this market segment extremely limited.

The situation with voluntary health insurance is more complex. Total voluntary health insurance premiums in 2025 amounted to 323.7 billion rubles, but nearly all of this is corporate: companies insuring their employees. The largest segment—corporate voluntary health insurance—grew 14.2% to 258.2 billion rubles, with the number of insured employees increasing by 0.9%. Personal voluntary health insurance, which individuals purchase for themselves, remains "exotic." This is a systemic problem: insurance works where it's embedded in HR packages, not where people make independent purchasing decisions.