Life insurance companies rely on a multifaceted business model to generate profits and remain financially stable in the long term. While it may seem straightforward on the surface – collecting premiums and paying claims – the reality is more complex. Understanding how insurers make money is essential for consumers looking to purchase policies, as it provides insight into how premium rates are set, why some policies lapse, and what factors influence an insurer’s financial strength.
Key Takeaways
- Life insurers have two main profit centres: underwriting profit from premiums and investment income from invested assets.
- Insurers also profit when term policies expire without a claim or when permanent policies are surrendered.
- Using underwriting to balance risks and set premiums that ensure profitability.
The Business Model of Life Insurance Companies
Life insurance companies operate on a business model that relies on multiple revenue streams to remain profitable in the long term. Unlike more straightforward businesses, life insurers do not just make money by selling a product for more than it costs to provide. Their profitability depends on expertly balancing risk and generating income from multiple sources over many decades.
Life insurance companies have four main ways they generate revenue:
| Revenue Stream | Description | Profitability Factor |
| Premiums Revenue | Regular payments from policyholders | Direct revenue generation |
| Investments | Returns from bonds, stocks, and real estate | Long-term profitability |
| Policy Lapses | Policies that expire without payout | Direct profit to insurer |
| Reinsurance | Reducing risk by transferring liabilities | Mitigates financial exposure |
Let’s explore each of these profit drivers in more detail.
Premium Revenue – The Core Revenue Source
The most direct source of revenue for life insurers is the premiums policyholders pay. Insurers employ actuaries who use complex data and mathematical models to carefully calculate the premiums. The premium must be sufficient to cover future claims and administrative expenses, and to build in a target profit margin. This risk assessment process is called underwriting.
The Role of Underwriting – Balancing Risk & Reward
When you apply for coverage, the insurer analyzes your:
- Age and gender
- Health status and family medical history
- Occupation
- Lifestyle habits (e.g. smoking) and hobbies (e.g., extreme sports)
By accurately pricing risk, charging higher premiums to riskier individuals and lower premiums to healthier individuals, the company balances its portfolio. For example, a 30-year-old non-smoking female will pay much lower term life premiums than a 50-year-old male smoker for the same coverage amount, reflecting their different mortality risks.
If an insurer collects more in premiums than it pays out in claims and expenses across thousands of clients, it will achieve an underwriting profit. However, if the insurer underestimates the risk and charges too little for coverage, it may not collect enough premiums to offset future claims.
Investment Income – Putting Premiums to Work
Life insurers don’t just sit on the premium dollars they collect. They invest a significant portion in interest-generating assets like:
- Government and corporate bonds
- Mortgage loans and real estate
- Stocks and mutual funds
- Policy loans
The returns from these investments provide a significant secondary revenue stream, especially for long-duration products. These returns allow insurers to offset claim losses in adverse periods, fund policy dividends for some permanent life products, or boost overall profitability and financial strength. For context, Canadian life & health insurers hold more than $1 trillion in long-term investments (2025 CLHIA fact book).
Gains from Lapsed and Expired Policy
Term life insurance policies pay a death benefit only if the insured dies during the policy term. If the policy expires, coverage ends, and no benefit is paid for that term. That doesn’t mean the premiums were “wasted”; they paid for protection during the years the coverage was active.
For permanent policies, when a policyholder voluntarily lets the policy lapse, they may receive a “cash surrender value,” but this is often less than the total premiums paid, especially in the early years. This net increased the insurance company’s profitability.
However, policy lapses aren’t always ideal for insurers. With permanent policies, in particular, a lapse means the loss of expected future premiums that could have been invested.
Income from Cash Value Investments – An Added Boost
Many permanent life insurance policies build cash value. Depending on the policy type, that cash value may be linked to an investment account, and results can increase or decrease based on the investments chosen.
Insurers can invest this cash value into a larger pool of diversified assets to generate additional returns. While some of the investment gains may get passed on to the policyholder, the insurance company still benefits financially from the overall performance of the underlying investments.
Other Factors Influencing Life Insurer Profits
While the core profit drivers discussed above apply broadly to the life insurance industry, each company’s exact financials depend on 5 other factors:
- Product mix: The blend of term, whole life, universal life, and other policy types that an insurer sells impacts profitability.
- Reinsurance: Most insurers purchase their insurance (reinsurance) to mitigate the risk of unexpectedly high claims.
- Operating efficiency: How well a company controls administrative costs affects the bottom line. Insurers increasingly leverage technology to streamline operations.
- Investment portfolio: The exact composition and performance of an insurer’s invested assets play a major role in profitability, especially during market volatility.
Besides, despite their financial strength and diversification, life insurers face several key risks:
- Economic risks: Recessions and market shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can simultaneously depress investment returns and increase policy lapses.
- Mortality/morbidity risks: Pandemics, opioid addiction, and other public health crises can lead to higher-than-expected death claims. Insurers also face longevity risk if annuity holders live longer than projected.
- Interest rate risks: Prolonged low interest rates strain life insurers’ investment margins, as they still must pay guaranteed rates on certain products. Volatile rate changes also pose risks.
The Canadian Safeguard: OSFI and Assuris
A common concern is, “What if my insurance company mismanages its business and fails?” In Canada, the system has robust protections.
- OSFI: This federal regulatory body acts as Canada’s financial watchdog, forcing insurers to maintain a high level of capital reserves. This ensures they have the financial strength to weather economic storms and pay all future claims.
- Assuris: A non-profit organization that protects Canadian policyholders if their life insurance company fails. Assuris guarantees that you will retain at least 90% of your promised benefits, with coverage up to very high limits. For example, a $400,000 death benefit would be covered up to $340,000. This safety net provides immense peace of mind.
The Bottom Line
As we’ve seen, life insurance companies generate profits through a multi-faceted business model. By collecting premiums, investing strategically, and managing risk through underwriting, insurers aim to remain financially stable and fulfill their promises to policyholders.
For individuals, understanding these profit mechanisms can help demystify how life insurance works and underscore the importance of choosing a reputable, well-capitalized company for such a long-term product. While paying premiums may feel like an expense, recognize that you’re really buying peace of mind in knowing your loved ones will be financially protected if the unexpected occurs.
FAQs on “How Do Life Insurance Companies Make Money?”
Do life insurance companies make a lot of money?
Yes, life insurance can be pretty profitable, but it requires a long-term outlook. Insurers must carefully balance premium rates, claim payouts, and investment returns over decades.
What happens to premiums when a term policy expires?
If a policyholder outlives the term of their life insurance coverage, the insurer generally keeps all the premiums paid as profit. No death benefit gets paid out.
Why does underwriting matter for life insurance profits?
Underwriting is how life insurers assess and price risk. If an insurer underestimates the risk of a policy or a book of business, it may not collect enough premiums to pay out promised death benefits.
How do life insurance companies invest in premiums?
Life insurers invest premium dollars into diversified portfolios of stocks, bonds, real estate, mortgages and other interest-generating assets to earn additional income. This helps them cover claims and stay profitable.
