Equity assets of German life insurers
Equity assets of German life insurers stood at 118,915 EUR million in Q2 2026, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Insurance corporation balance sheets table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q3 2016 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Insurance corporation balance sheets table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets and liabilities | 1,235,679 | 1,191,079 | 1,198,616 | 1,201,329 | 1,191,292 | 1,182,732 | 1,207,393 | 1,207,715 | 1,182,260 | 1,193,759 | |
| Assets | |||||||||||
| Equity | 118,915 | 119,105 | 117,112 | 117,613 | 115,558 | 116,298 | 121,092 | 116,044 | 115,051 | 115,567 |
Understanding equity assets of German life insurers
Equity holdings encompassing quoted company shares, unlisted private participations, and investment fund units owned by German life insurers are tracked in this reporting field. The measure includes common and preferred stocks traded on domestic and international exchanges, long-term strategic shareholdings in affiliated enterprises, and holdings in collective investment funds through which insurers obtain diversified capital exposure. This row stands apart from debt security assets and loan assets, which embody contractual debt claims with predetermined maturity horizons, and excludes financial derivative contracts that derive values from equity benchmarks.
Because listed equities and fund units are recorded at market values, quarter-on-quarter movements in this position are driven largely by equity market fluctuations rather than deliberate portfolio shifts. A year-on-year perspective provides a more balanced assessment of strategic asset allocation by filtering out short-term stock market volatility. Statistical adjustments may occur when collective funds are decomposed into underlying asset classes or when reporting entities reclassify holdings under revised institutional guidelines. Readers should bear in mind that stringent prudential capital requirements limit equity exposure across life insurers, making even modest reallocations significant indicators of risk appetite.
Frequently asked questions
- Are units in specialized institutional funds classified under this equity series?
- Yes, investments in collective investment undertakings and specialized institutional funds are included under equity assets unless detailed look-through rules allocate them elsewhere.
- How does equity market performance influence the reported value of this series?
- Quoted shareholdings are marked to market at each balance sheet date, meaning that broader stock price changes directly alter the reported asset volume.
- Why do life insurers hold a smaller share of equity compared to debt securities?
- Prudential capital regulations and long-term guaranteed policy promises require life insurers to maintain most of their balance sheets in fixed-income assets.