Insurance companies: Balance sheet (J20)
This data summarises the assets and liabilities of New Zealand's insurance industry.
Data files
| Previous years: | Quarterly: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | Sep 2021 | Dec 2021 | Mar 2022 | Jun 2022 | Sep 2022 | |
| Assets ($m) | ||||||
| Policyholder debt | 2,552 | 2,731 | 2,704 | 2,392 | 3,075 | 3,064 |
| Outwards reinsurance & other recovery assets | 2,605 | 2,923 | 2,967 | 2,847 | 2,877 | 2,716 |
| Deferred acquisition cost assets | 557 | 594 | 593 | 588 | 631 | 650 |
| Deferred & future tax on policy liabilities | -2,686 | -2,257 | -2,308 | -2,215 | -2,121 | -2,147 |
| Other insurance assets | 32 | 37 | 42 | 42 | 41 | 99 |
| Total insurance assets | 3,060 | 4,028 | 3,997 | 3,654 | 4,503 | 4,381 |
| Cash and deposits | 2,157 | 2,637 | 2,771 | 3,056 | 3,061 | 2,599 |
| Short-term debt | 2,654 | 2,922 | 2,660 | 2,391 | 2,361 | 2,723 |
| Long-term debt | 6,404 | 5,566 | 5,800 | 5,913 | 5,440 | 4,988 |
| Equities | 711 | 776 | 784 | 283 | 269 | 191 |
| Unit trusts | 4,550 | 4,950 | 5,008 | 5,122 | 4,816 | 4,849 |
| Property | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other investment assets | 365 | -205 | -241 | -379 | -262 | -151 |
| Total investment assets | 16,867 | 16,646 | 16,782 | 16,385 | 15,685 | 15,199 |
| Goodwill & other intangible assets | 532 | 536 | 523 | 519 | 517 | 780 |
| Other assets | 839 | 840 | 850 | 1,182 | 1,257 | 1,343 |
| Total assets | 21,298 | 22,050 | 22,153 | 21,740 | 21,962 | 21,703 |
| Liabilities ($m) | ||||||
| Policy liabilities life | 2,646 | 2,861 | 2,782 | 2,483 | 2,080 | 1,889 |
| Policy unvested benefit liability life | 1,060 | 1,068 | 1,080 | 1,059 | 1,005 | 989 |
| Gross outstanding claims liability non-life | 3,226 | 3,712 | 3,720 | 3,904 | 3,835 | 3,898 |
| Gross unearned premium and unexpired risk liability non-life | 3,578 | 3,918 | 3,975 | 3,820 | 4,190 | 4,382 |
| Outwards reinsurance liabilities | 1,178 | 1,081 | 1,010 | 987 | 1,310 | 1,103 |
| Other insurance-related liabilities | 487 | 505 | 464 | 483 | 532 | 530 |
| Total insurance liabilities | 12,176 | 13,146 | 13,032 | 12,737 | 12,951 | 12,790 |
| Other liabilities | 1,106 | 1,082 | 1,093 | 989 | 1,034 | 1,108 |
| Total liabilities | 13,282 | 14,228 | 14,125 | 13,726 | 13,985 | 13,898 |
| Net assets ($m) | ||||||
| Net assets | 8,016 | 7,822 | 8,028 | 8,013 | 7,977 | 7,805 |
| Key ratios | ||||||
| Return on net assets (%) | 12.5 | 12.1 | 12.7 | 12.3 | 9.2 | 8.6 |
| Investment return (%) | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | -0.8 | -6.2 | -6.8 |
Impact of NZ IFRS17 on J10 and J20 publication
A new financial reporting standard, NZ IFRS 17, comes into mandatory effect for insurers from the start of their financial year, commencing on or after 1 January 2023. NZ IFRS 17 replaces NZ IFRS 4 and changes underlying accounting concepts which underpin financial and solvency reporting.
The new standard will impact the publication of our current suite of insurance tables J10 & J20 from the 2023 reporting periods, starting from March 2023 (scheduled for publication in June 2023). The reporting quarters of Sep-22 and Dec-22 will not be affected.
Further information relating to any changes to published insurance data will be released in due course.
For more information related to insurance data upgrade please see Insurance data upgrade - Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua (rbnz.govt.nz)
The final publication of the J10 and J20 will be on 29 March 2023.
This publication will include data for the quarter ended 31 December 2022.
If you have any questions please email [email protected]
The data: coverage, periodicity, and timeliness
Coverage characteristics
The Insurance Financial Performance statistics contains the revenue and expense of New Zealand’s insurance industry. Data is collected from the Quarterly Insurer Survey (QIS) which collects data from insurance companies with:
- Gross annual premium $50+ million at financial year end; or
- Total assets $500+ million at financial year end
but excluding reinsurers with no NZ primary insurance.
The standard QIS covers 28 out of 88 insurers and reinsurers accounting for just under 90% of assets and premiums of the regulated insurance industry as a whole.
The QIS excludes reinsurers with no New Zealand primary insurance. It also does not cover the Earthquake Commission and the Accident Compensation Corporation, as these organisations have their own enabling legislation and are not supervised by the Reserve Bank.
More information regarding the regulated insurance industry can be found in the Insurers section.
Periodicity
Quarterly
Timeliness
Data is released approximately three months after the reference quarter.
Access by the public
Statistics release calendar
The Statistics Release Calendar provides a long-term plan of scheduled releases. It is updated and released on the first working day of the month.
View the Statistics release calendar
Integrity
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is the prudential regulator and supervisor of all insurers undertaking insurance business in New Zealand (NZ), and is responsible for administering the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (IPSA).
View the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (IPSA)
In 2015 the Reserve Bank introduced regular data collections from New Zealand licensed insurers to support the Reserve Bank’s own prudential supervision under IPSA and monitoring of the financial sector as mandated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989.
Find out more about the regular data collections from New Zealand licensed insurers
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand publishes only aggregated data. All information collected in the insurer data returns is subject to section 135 confidentiality provisions under IPSA.
Read the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989
Provision of information about revisions and advance notice of major changes in methodology
New data, or revised data, is in bold font. This applies to the summary table only and not excel files. Revisions are generally published when a table is next due to be updated and released. Should revisions need to be made more promptly, a ‘special note’ is published.
Any major changes in methodology are posted on the website as a ‘special note’.
Quality
Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics
An Excel template is completed and returned each quarter by QIS respondents. The template is accompanied by a file that specifies procedures and definitions for survey respondents.
Insurance methods
Life
Aggregate for all insurers that reported using life insurance methods.
Non-life
Aggregate for all insurers that reported using general insurance methods.
Life insurance methods
Insurance valuation methods that are consistent with Appendix C of NZ IFRS 4, or equivalents under other accounting standards. These are either projection (long-term future cash-flows including any renewals), accumulation (past cash-flows) or a mixture. Information that is reported specifically for life insurance methods (and not general insurance methods).
General insurance methods
Insurance valuation methods that are consistent with Appendix D of NZ IFRS 4, or equivalents under other accounting standards. These are a mixture of past and future cash-flows but without including any future renewals. Information that is reported specifically for general insurance methods (and not life insurance methods).
Assets
Policyholder debt
Unpaid premiums and premiums yet to be forwarded to the insurer by agents or brokers.
Outwards reinsurance and other recovery assets
The reinsurance assets in respect of insurance liabilities plus other claim recoveries.
Deferred acquisition cost assets
Asset for capitalised (deferred) acquisition costs, grossed up for any write-down associated with unexpired risk liability. Excludes outwards reinsurance commission.
Deferred and future tax on policy liabilities
Assets for deferred and future tax associated with gross policy liabilities and policyholder unvested benefit liability, less outwards reinsurance of gross policy liabilities. This may be negative in some circumstances. Applicable only if life insurance methods are used and tax components of policy liabilities are separately recorded in financial statements or alternative financial information.
Other insurance assets
Any other assets associated with insurance business that is not included elsewhere and excluding negative liabilities.
Total insurance assets
The sum of policyholder debt, outwards reinsurance and other recovery assets, deferred acquisition cost assets, deferred and future tax on policy liabilities and other insurance assets.
Cash and deposits
Comprises cash at bank, transferable deposits directly useable for making payments, and fixed term deposits. Amounts are redeemable or withdrawable (with or without penalty) and are usually held with registered banks or other deposit taking institutions. Excludes loans and advances, debt securities and securities purchased under agreement to resell.
Short-term debt
Comprises negotiable instruments serving as evidence of debt with a residual term to maturity of one year or less. Excludes loans and advances, securities purchased under agreements to resell and derivatives.
Long-term debt
Comprises negotiable instruments serving as evidence of debt with a residual term to maturity of greater than one year. Excludes loans and advances, securities purchased under agreements to resell, and derivatives.
Equities
Comprises equity investments that are listed and not listed on an official stock exchange (such as NZX or ASX). Excludes investments in subsidiaries and associates.
Unit trusts
Comprises investment in pooled investment vehicles that are and are not listed on an official stock exchange (such as NZX or ASX).
Property
Comprises land and buildings for the purpose of investment as well as owner-occupied property.
Other investment assets
Any other assets, not included in the categories above, that are expected to generate investment revenue. This includes derivatives for investment, other financial assets and other non-financial assets.
Total investment assets
The sum of cash and deposits, short-term debt, long-term debt, equities, unit trusts, property and other investment assets.
Residency investment assets
Assets that have been issued by a person, company or other entity that ordinarily domiciled or has a principal centre of economic interest in New Zealand.
Offshore investment assets
Assets that have been issued by a person, company or other entity that ordinarily domiciled or has a principal centre of economic interest in a country other than New Zealand.
Goodwill and other intangible assets
The value of businesses previously purchased (goodwill) and any other intangible assets.
Other assets
Any other assets not elsewhere classified. This includes loans, derivatives not for investment, fixed, tax and related party assets. Excludes assets in relation to insurance business and investment assets.
Total assets
The sum of total insurance assets, total investment assets, goodwill and other intangible assets and other assets.
Liabilities
Policy liabilities
Comprises gross policy liabilities – insurance contracts and gross policy liabilities – investment contracts.
Gross policy liabilities – insurance contracts
Under life insurance methods, the liability for insurance contracts business, gross of outwards reinsurance. Excludes policyholder unvested benefits liability. May be gross or net of tax, consistent with the insurer’s financial statements or alternative financial information. The liability may be negative in some situations.
Gross policy liabilities – investment contracts
Under life insurance methods, the liability for investment contracts business, gross of outwards reinsurance. May be gross or net of tax, consistent with the insurer’s financial statements or alternative financial information.
Policyholder unvested benefit liability
The liability for undistributed past profits that are expected to be paid to policyholders through future bonuses.
Gross outstanding claims liability
The liability for claims that have occurred but are unpaid, gross of outwards reinsurance, under general insurance methods. Includes reported unpaid claims, incurred but not reported claims, incurred but not enough reported claims and reopened claims. Inclusive of claims handling expenses and risk margins.
Gross unearned premium and unexpired risk liability
Comprises gross unearned premium liability and unexpired risk liability.
Gross unearned premium liability
The liability for the portion of premiums that relates to the period of cover that is in the future, gross of outwards reinsurance, under general insurance methods.
Unexpired risk liability
The liability for the failure of the liability adequacy test that is additional to gross unearned premiums liability; that is, the expected deficiency of premiums to meet claims and relevant expenses in respect of the period of cover that is the future.
Outwards reinsurance liabilities
The portions of gross policy liabilities and policyholder unvested benefit liability that is met from outwards reinsurance. This may be negative in some circumstances. Applicable only if life insurance methods are used for the corresponding liabilities.
Other insurance-related liabilities
The liabilities associated with insurance business that is not included elsewhere (such as premium refunds payable). Excludes liabilities that are not directly insurance-related and negative assets.
Total insurance liabilities
The sum of policy liabilities, policyholder unvested benefit liability, gross outstanding claims liability, gross unearned premium and unexpired risk liability, outwards reinsurance liabilities and other insurance-related liabilities.
Other liabilities
Comprises any liability not elsewhere classified. Excludes liabilities in relation to insurance business.
Total liabilities
The sum of total insurance liabilities and other liabilities.
Net assets
Net assets
Total assets less total liabilities.
Capital additions
New capital that has been raised during the financial year, other than through profit after tax or movement in reserves. This includes issue of new share equity, transfer from head office for an overseas insurer, and contributions to members’ funds for a mutual insurer.
Key ratios
Profit after tax
Total revenue less total expenses, net of tax expense.
Total investment revenue
The sum of interest, dividends and rent, together with realised and unrealised gains and losses.
Return on net assets
The net profit after tax divided by the total estimated net assets at the start of the period. This is expressed as annual percentage rates.
Investment return
Total investment revenue divided by total investment assets.
Symbols and conventions for summary table
| Symbol or convention | Definition |
|---|---|
| 0 | Zero or value rounded to zero |
| - | Not applicable |
| .. | Not available |
| bold | Revised/new |
| italics | Provisional |
| Light grey background | Historical |
General notes
- Individual figures may not sum to the totals due to rounding
- Percentage changes are calculated on unrounded numbers
- You are free to copy, distribute and adapt these statistics subject to the conditions listed on our copyright page.
Related statistics
View other data in the Insurance financial statistics series.