A 2024 Wealth Management Market Study conducted by NMG Consulting for Utmost Group suggests that even a small increase in the overall penetration by the international life insurance market into holding HNW assets globally could add some £240bn in assets.

Adding these would take the overall assets in the HNW international life insurance market to over £800bn, the study suggests, adding that it is the first time the size of the global HNW international life insurance market has been identified.

A key reason for conducting the study was to understand where HNWIs hold their assets. The study suggests a third globally are in investible assets, totalling some £28trn, and typically held to address individual long term savings and investment needs.

However, insurance based wealth solutions account for just 2%, or some £543bn of this market, the study notes. The low penetration is identified as down to factors such as "limited client awareness/understanding and is often reliant on the specialist financial advisers or brokers informing and explaining these solutions and benefits to clients. Placement capacity, the number and productivity of suitably qualified and licensed advisers, is therefore a limiting constraint on distribution and penetration of the market."

"By increasing awareness and understanding there is an opportunity to better serve the end customer which in turn will expand the penetration of the product in the market. By increasing penetration to 3% (from 2%), the global HNW international life insurance market could add over £240bn of additional assets, growing the market by 50% and surpassing £800bn."

Other key findings include:

  • In 2024, HNW international new business sales grew 25% to £41bn, primarily caused by a sharp uplift in UK HNW sales following changes in the UK tax regime and increased European wealth planning sales in both linked and non-linked business.
  • Long-term tailwinds forecast to increase annual new business sales to £67bn by 2030, delivering an additional £90bn of new business sales cumulatively between 2025 to 2030.
  • Tailwinds include: a growing and internationally mobile HNW/UHNW population; the significant wave of intergenerational wealth transfer; and an increasing interest in advisory and solution-based outcomes to meet client needs.

Mark Fairbairn, Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Utmost, said: "This landmark Market Study unveils for the first time the size of the rapidly growing HNW and international life insurance market. It is a market that is set to grow quickly in the coming years as wealth transfer accelerates and the HNW population both expands and becomes more internationally mobile. Insurance-based wealth solutions are currently a small part of the market but are expected to play an increasingly important role in an adviser’s toolkit when serving HNW and UHNW clients over the coming years."