The Swedish insurance industry comprises 32 life insurance companies, 14 occupational pension companies, 209 non-life insurance companies and 25 mutual benefit associations. Of these 280 insurance and occupational pension companies, 38 (14 per cent) are foreign-owned and represented in Sweden through branches or agencies. Since 2017, the proportion of foreign-owned companies has increased from 10 to 14 per cent.
The number of companies has varied over the years, but compared with 2017, it has decreased by 19 per cent. The number of mutual benefit associations in particular has more than halved and, under current legislation, these associations are to be phased out over time. Occupational pension companies were introduced in 2020. These are former insurance companies that have been converted into occupational pension companies. Insurance companies and occupational pension companies are subject to different regulatory frameworks. Insurance companies are governed by the Insurance Business Act, while occupational pension companies are governed by the Occupational Pension Companies Act, which was introduced at the end of 2019.
Together, the industry employs around 25,000 people, corresponding to approximately half a per cent of total employment in the Swedish labour market. While the number of companies in the insurance industry has decreased by 19 per cent since 2017, the number of employees has increased by 28 per cent over the same period.
The insurance industry has a relatively even gender distribution. Of those employed in the industry in 2025, just over half, 53 per cent, were women. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the proportion of women has been slightly higher than the proportion of men.
The proportion of managers who are women has shown an upward trend over time. In 2002, 36 per cent of managers were women. The corresponding proportion in 2025 was 48 per cent, that is, nearly half.
Both the proportion of women and the proportion of managers who are women are higher in the insurance industry than in the whole business sector, where the corresponding figures were 40 per cent and 38 per cent respectively in 2025.
A quarter of employees in the insurance industry works within claims adjustment and insurance regulation. This occupational group includes investigative work concerning the cause of and liability for a claim, as well as roles involving risk assessments and analysis relating to reinsurance with other companies. Certain specialist professions, such as actuaries (insurance mathematicians), are also included in this group. Other common occupational groups are IT (14 per cent), customer service and sales (14 per cent), and sales and advisory services (11 per cent).
This page is based on our report Insurance in Sweden 2016–2025.
