Business insurance market size: three Bank of England lines

The Bank of England's freedom-of-information release of 27 May 2025 gives 2023 gross written premiums submitted by UK general insurance firms. Three commercial lines — motor, property and general liability — total £57.625 billion together. That figure is UK-wide and covers firms of every size. It is not a whole-market total, and it is not an England figure for small-business insurance.

What to take away

What the Bank of England table can and cannot answer

A Bank of England freedom-of-information release is titled "Aggregated data for gross written premiums submitted by UK general insurance firms in 2023" and dated 27 May 2025. Its table comprises the 2023 insurance market aggregated data for gross written premiums, reflecting the NS07 template on the Bank's regulatory reporting – insurance sector page. Quote that title and date when citing the figures.

The wider table also contains personal lines and accepted non-proportional reinsurance. Earlier Bank of England returns list commercial employers' liability and commercial professional indemnity as separate lines. So the three named lines do not cover every commercial cover sold, and £57.625 billion is a three-line total rather than a market total.

Use the table below as a filter: if a question cannot be answered yes in the right-hand column, these totals are the wrong evidence for it.

Why business counts cannot allocate the totals

Do not allocate the totals to England using its share of business counts. Premium depends on exposure, limits, claims history, geography and market conditions, and a count says how many firms exist, not what any of them was charged.

The Department for Business and Trade's Business Population Estimates 2025, published on 2 October 2025, estimated 5.7 million private-sector businesses in the UK at the start of 2025, of which 5.64 million had 0 to 49 employees. The release counts businesses; it reports no premiums and cannot split the Bank's totals between England and the rest of the UK.

Many firms have no employees, vehicle, premises, stock, professional advice or other exposure relevant to a particular policy. One business may also hold several covers, so policies cannot be equated with unique customers.

Where compulsory cover gives a firmer anchor

In Great Britain, the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998 require most employers to hold at least £5 million of cover from an authorised insurer. The Health and Safety Executive and local authorities enforce the duty, and GOV.UK guidance sets out the exemptions and territorial limits.

Authorised insurers appear on the Financial Conduct Authority Register and are prudentially regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Because exemptions exist, not every organisation with a worker belongs in the compulsory segment, so a count of employers is a narrower and firmer starting point than a count of all businesses.

Commercial vehicle use raises a second legal question. GOV.UK's vehicle insurance guidance states that motor insurance is required to use a vehicle on UK roads, and the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes third-party cover the legal minimum. The class of use and driver arrangement must be confirmed for the actual vehicle.

The question of whether a sole trader with no staff needs the employer cover has its own answer in employers' liability for sole traders.

Where to look for an England or small-business figure

Neither figure readers usually want — a whole-market business insurance total or an England small-business premium total — is in this release. The Bank of England's insurance aggregate annual data report page publishes UK insurance statistics built from Solvency II submissions. The Association of British Insurers publishes UK-level market statistics. Check both for the current period before quoting a number.

Build an auditable estimate

Choose a policy class, business definition and date. Use an England business count, then measure the share with the specific exposure through a documented source: the ONS Business Population Estimates, the Inter-Departmental Business Register, the Companies House register or the Bank's NS07 returns. Apply observed policy uptake and premium distributions only when the sample matches the segment.

Show a range rather than one precise number. Record non-response, multi-policy customers, bundled covers, exclusions and whether figures are written, earned or paid premium. Treat broker revenue, insurer premium and customer spend as different measures.

A useful output has three scenarios. The lower case covers businesses with verified exposure and confirmed purchase only, the central case applies best-supported uptake and premium observations, and the upper case tests plausible exposure and price bounds, not forecasts.

The buyer's view of the same market, from compulsory cover to distribution routes, is in the foundations guide.

Publish every input beside its source year, geography and sample definition, with the key metrics listed once so comparisons stay like for like. That keeps disagreements traceable to an assumption, not hidden inside a headline total.

Before you act

Common questions

What is the business insurance market size in the Bank of England data?

The three named commercial lines total £57.625 billion of 2023 gross written premium: £4.746 billion motor, £27.174 billion property and £25.705 billion general liability. That is a subset of a wider return, not an all-lines market total.

Can the totals be split into an England small-business figure?

No. They are UK-wide totals for all firm sizes, and premium depends on exposure, limits, claims history, geography and market conditions rather than on business counts. No England small-business premium total appears in the release.

Why can the England business count not be treated as an insurance-customer count?

Most firms lack exposure for a given policy, and one business can hold several covers. Counts also use head-office location, and the Business Population Estimates include unregistered businesses with sampling uncertainty.

How should a reader build an auditable estimate of small-business premium?

Choose a policy class, business definition and date, then use an England business count and a documented exposure source. Show a range with the unit and period stated, not one precise number.