s investors adjust to a new market era of higher interest rates, insurance companies slightly lagged the broader market in the last 12 months. The S&P Insurance Select Industry Index has lost nearly 1% in the past year, outpaced by a roughly 3% gain for the benchmark S&P 500 index. Still, most large insurance companies remain well-capitalized and have hardly lost ground on the list: With rates still high, that means more cash for insurers to take in.
UnitedHealth Group took the industry’s top spot on the list, rising seven spots to No. 15. Also the highest-ranked U.S. firm for another year running, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth posted nearly $336 billion in 12-month revenue, the ninth-most of the world’s public companies, while its stock held largely flat during that period. With a market capitalization of nearly $500 billion—also among the biggest on the list, the firm posted net profit of $20 billion last year.
Germany’s Allianz , France’s AXA and China Life Insurance Co. round out the top five largest insurers, similar to last year’s results. CVS, which is classified as a pharmaceutical retailer rather than an insurance company but owns insurer Aetna, ranks No. 65, down from No. 42 last year.