Marsh, a global professional services company that provides risk, reinsurance, capital, people, investments and management consulting services, has released the results of its 2026 Global Insurance Investments Survey, which suggests insurers continue to favour private credit despite taking a more measured approach to new investments.
Marsh’s research found that private credit remains the most popular area for planned investment growth over the next 12 to 24 months. More than half (57%) of insurers surveyed said they expect to increase their allocations to the asset class, ahead of public investment-grade fixed income, which was selected by 48% of respondents.
The findings represent a notable change from the Mercer and Oliver Wyman 2024 Global Insurance Investments Survey, when only 32% of insurers planned to increase exposure to private credit and 37% intended to raise allocations to fixed income.
According to Marsh, insurers are directing most of their attention towards higher-quality areas of the private credit market. Investment-grade direct lending and private placements were identified by 40% of respondents as preferred investment opportunities, while 38% pointed to investment-grade structured credit, asset-based finance, net asset value (NAV) lending and fund finance.
“Private credit is a compelling opportunity for insurers, especially in the asset-backed space. Insurers can diversify away from corporate risk while realising meaningful yield pickup over similar rated, investment-grade public market bonds,” added David Morrow, Mercer’s Global Insurance Proposition Leader.
Marsh’s findings indicate that North American insurers are the most likely to expand private credit investments. Around 74% of Canadian respondents and 65% of US insurers expect to increase allocations, compared with 51% of insurers across Europe and 46% in the UK.
The survey also suggests that larger insurers are driving much of the growth. Marsh found that 81% of organisations managing assets exceeding USD $25 billion intend to increase private credit exposure, whereas the figure falls to 46% among insurers with less than USD $25 billion under management. Life insurers demonstrated the strongest appetite for the asset class, with 73% planning to increase allocations, compared with 56% of health insurers and 40% of property and casualty insurers.
Alongside continued demand, Marsh reported that insurers remain cautious about the risks linked to private credit. The most frequently identified concern, cited by 66% of respondents, was the narrowing of illiquidity premiums and tighter credit spreads, raising questions over whether investors are receiving sufficient compensation for reduced liquidity. Other commonly identified risks included weaker underwriting standards or loan covenants, selected by 54% of respondents, together with rising defaults, widening spreads and greater use of payment-in-kind (PIK) structures, which were highlighted by 51%.
“Capitalising on the benefits of private credit will require insurers to have a rigorous process for manager selection. It will be important for them to choose managers who demonstrate sourcing, underwriting, portfolio construction and workout capability to navigate the next phase of the credit cycle,” added Amit Popat, Mercer’s Global Head of Financial Institutions.
Marsh’s research also points to a capability gap across the insurance sector. Only 30% of insurers surveyed said they have most of the expertise needed to invest confidently in private markets, while 29% reported possessing only some of the required capabilities.
According to Marsh, these limitations may restrict insurers’ ability to diversify portfolios effectively, maintain target allocations and carry out ongoing due diligence. As interest in private markets continues to grow, the company believes insurers are increasingly likely to rely on external investment specialists to assist with manager selection, liquidity management, capital modelling, cash flow forecasting and transaction execution.
“Even the largest insurers recognise they don’t have all the capabilities or origination capacity in-house and are looking to outside private credit managers to help fill gaps and boost risk-adjusted yields,” said Josh Zwick, a Partner in Oliver Wyman’s Insurance and Asset Management Practice. “Everyone is looking to build out their capabilities, and that often means finding partners that can help navigate the complexities across different parts of the sprawling private credit market.”
Marsh’s survey also found that artificial intelligence currently plays a relatively limited role within insurers’ investment operations. More than half (54%) of respondents said they are not making meaningful use of AI, while 29% are using it to support analysis of alternative investment data and research. Where the technology has been adopted, its most common applications include document review, data integration, scenario modelling, manager oversight and risk assessment.
The results also suggest that AI adoption increases with organisational size. Marsh found that three-quarters of insurers managing more than USD $100 billion in assets reported meaningful AI use, whereas only around one in ten insurers managing less than USD $1 billion said the same.
Marsh conducted its 2026 Global Insurance Investments Survey between March and April 2026, gathering responses from 123 insurers across 24 countries representing more than USD $4 trillion in investment assets. The company said it supports insurers through its Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman businesses, providing advice and services across reinsurance, capital, investments, people and management consulting.
