Life insurers in major advanced economies have contributed more risk to the financial system as a whole since the global financial crisis, according to new research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Insurers are large institutional investors holding over $24 trillion in global assets and longer-term liabilities, and they have become more exposed to swings in asset prices in recent years. This means that in the event of a large shock, such as a sharp drop in asset prices, insurers are unlikely to fulfill their role to channel savings to borrowers, precisely when other parts of the financial system may also fail to do so.
