The financial and insurance industries are cornerstones of the UK economy. The financial services sector alone accounts for around 6.5% of the country's total economic output, having contributed £119 billion during 2017. Predictably, London is the centre for activity in the sector, with around 50% of the industry's output is created there. The financial sector is also an important employer, with around 1.1 million people working in it; that's 3.2% of all UK jobs.
Financial services exports for the UK in 2016 were worth £61 billion, while imports were worth £11 billion, creating a surplus in the trade of financial services that sat at £51 billion. Of all financial services exports, 44% were for the EU. 39% of financial services imports meanwhile, were sent from the EU.
The insurance industry in the UK is equally strong; it contributes over £40 billion to the country's economy annually. The UK also currently ranks as the world leader for insurance exports; the country currently sells around £13 billion more than it imports. The industry provides around 309,000 jobs, with 86% of employees in the sector working full time; much higher than the national average of 67%. Research by Volterra also found that these employees are twice as productive as those in industries like manufacturing or construction, adding up to £150,000 to the UK economy every year.
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Research by Volterra also found that these employees are twice as productive as those in industries like manufacturing or construction, adding up to £150,000 to the UK economy every year.
Clearly, there are huge sums of money involved in the sector - but which companies are turning over the most? We used our B2B directory to put together a list of the industry's top performers... here are the results.
