The first quarter of 2026 saw continued rapid market growth, following a record-breaking 2025. This momentum was achieved despite the more challenging conditions: geopolitical volatility and uncertainty affecting macroeconomic data, as well as fierce market competition.

KEY FIGURES FOR Q1 2026:

• Poles spent:
  • PLN 6.7 billion on life insurance (+13.3%);
  • PLN 17.2 billion on property insurance (+4.8%);
• Compensation and benefits totalled PLN 14.1 billion, including:
  • PLN 4.7 billion in benefits under life insurance, +4.1% y/y
  • PLN 9.4 billion in compensation under property insurance, +5.9% y/y.
• Insurers allocated PLN 113.5 billion in bonds and other fixed-income securities.
• Additionally, the sector invested PLN 21.4 billion in shares of WSE-listed companies and other variable-income securities.
• The sector’s financial result declined by PLN 80 million, to PLN 2 billion.
• Insurers paid PLN 0.6 billion in income tax (+11% y/y).

– The market is staying on a steady growth path. Following a record-breaking 2025, in which both life and property insurance grew robustly, the current year may prove more challenging, while remaining net positive for the sector. Geopolitics, macroeconomics, the race to adopt new technologies and competition will have a direct impact on the sector’s outlook. In the motor insurance segment, we are seeing continued fierce price competition, which is putting pressure on the technical profitability of this line of business. In the long term, the market will need to factor in the steady rise in the average claim value under motor TPO insurance, which will require an appropriate adjustment of premium levels to the actual risk – says Adam Uszpolewicz, president of the Management Board of the Polish Chamber of Insurance (PIU).

Life insurance

After Q1 2026, the life insurance market grew in terms of both the number of contracts and the amount of gross written premium. Almost 26 million people had life insurance, over 57% of which represented group policies. Compared with the same period in 2025, the number of people included in group schemes rose by 6%, while gross written premium increased by more than 4%. This shows that group insurance is a popular employee benefit. The number of individual policies has remained stable for several years. At the end of the quarter, it was 11 million.

Gross written premium in the life insurance segment reached PLN 6.7 billion, +13.3% y/y. The result was driven by an 85.7% increase in single premiums, while regular gross written premium rose by 7.1%. The spike in single premiums was mainly attributable to a rebound following the negative impact of Recommendation U on the 2025 performance.

– Although the life insurance market is showing symptoms of a modest recovery, we are still a long way from the level of growth enjoyed by many Western European countries. In Poland, the role of life and health protection is still significantly underweight, both in terms of providing financial security for families in the event of unforeseen incidents and in building long-term savings.  The visible disparities between the life and property segments show that the former has lots of untapped potential. The sector needs a broader, systemic review of how to raise awareness of the importance of life insurance and create conditions conducive to its expansion. This is vital not only from the perspective of households’ financial security, but also for the entire economy, which needs stable, long-term capital to support investment and growth; the life insurance sector could become a major source of such capital – says Piotr Wrzesiński, vice president of the Management Board of PIU.

Motor insurance

Motor insurance accounts for the largest share of the property insurance market. In Q1 2026:

the number of third party only (TPO) insurance policies rose by 4% (i.e. by 320 thousand, to 8.8 million), and the number of comprehensive Auto Casco (AC) insurance policies rose by 6% (i.e. by 140 thousand, to 2.3 million). This is due to the growing number of vehicles populating Polish roads and the fact that people are more eager to take out AC voluntary insurance. The proportion of cars insured under an AC policy to all vehicles rose by 0.6 p.p. y/y, to 26.6%;

gross written premium for motor TPO insurance rose by PLN 140 million, to PLN 4.8 billion, while gross written premium for AC insurance slightly increased (by 0.5%), to PLN 3.8 billion;

compensation and benefits paid under compulsory motor TPO insurance totalled PLN 3.4 billion, up 9.2% y/y;

compensation paid under AC insurance totalled PLN 2.5 billion, up 13.4% y/y.

The average premium for motor TPO insurance was PLN 551, i.e. PLN 4 (0.7%) less year-on-year. Over this period, the average amount of claim under motor TPO insurance rose by 6.4%, and at the end of Q1 2026 stood at PLN 11.6 thousand, with relatively unchanged claim frequency compared with the previous year (around 3% annually).

In this insurance segment, the industry recorded a technical loss (- PLN 19 million, a decrease of PLN 62 million). Conversely, the AC insurance segment saw a technical profit (PLN 54 million), which was still PLN 195 million lower than in the previous year.

Other property insurance

Gross written premium in property insurance (Classes 8 and 9: insurance against natural disasters and other property damage) increased by 4.5%, to PLN 3.5 billion PLN.  After Q1 2026, compensation paid under these lines of insurance totalled PLN 1.3 billion, down 0.5% y/y.

Q1 2026 brought robust growth for the insurance market in categories such as health insurance (+17% y/y) and Assistance (+14% y/y). Above-average growth (+17% y/y) was also reported in the inward reinsurance segment.

Profit and tax

In Q1 2026, the technical result in life insurance rose by 8.2% y/y, to PLN 1.1 billion PLN. In property insurance, the technical result decreased by 28.5%, to PLN 783 million. Net profit for the entire industry fell by PLN 80 million, to PLN 2.0 billion, made up of PLN 800 million in life insurance (unchanged y/y) and PLN 1.2 billion in property insurance (down PLN 82 million y/y).

– The noticeable decline in income from life insurance investments at the end of Q1 2026 is attributable to, among other things, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and uncertainty regarding future scenarios pervading financial markets. Provided there is no major escalation of the conflict, we expect that its impact on investment performance will diminish over the coming quarters – says Adam Uszpolewicz, president of PIU. 

In Q1 2026, insurers paid PLN 614 million of income tax to the State budget.