Hospital Indemnity Growth
Telos Actuarial has previously shared that the Hospital Indemnity market is somewhat concentrated, with the top five carriers making up almost two-thirds of the entire market. Here again, again they analyze the top five carriers and share some initial observations based on that review. These are likely indicative of changes for the entire market, but be aware that revisions are possible as more information is added to the analysis.
Premium growth has been robust and steady in recent years. It looks like 2025 was somewhat a mixed bag among the top five; we see two with fairly healthy growth, two declining, and one basically flat from 2024 to 2025.
Loss ratios vary widely by individual carrier. But historically they have been steady for the market, averaging in the low- to mid-40s before 2020, and at or below 40% since then. There was a jump up by 5 percentage points in 2024, perhaps tracking with (but slightly trailing) increases in medical services utilization observed in the Medicare market. That jump moderated some in 2025, with the average among the top five carriers dropping by two points.
Loss ratio results for individual carriers among the top group was again a mix; changes from 2024 ranged from -5 percentage points to +2 percentage points.
Policy counts were up a little bit in aggregate. As you may have guessed, individual carrier results varied.
Average premium calculations reveal a variety of strategies in policy design and sales; there are some clear distinctions among these carriers, with some averaging ~$500 in annual premium and others closer to $2,000 per year. There are likely significant differences in both the benefit levels sold, and in the number and type of additional “auxiliary” benefits provided along with the basic hospital indemnity coverage.