Great Eastern Named Singapore's Only Brand in Brand Finance's Insurance 100 2026, With US$4.9 Billion Brand Value and an AAA Strength Rating

Singapore's Great Eastern has been recognised as one of the strongest insurance brands in the world by a brand valuation consultancy. In its Insurance 100 2026 report, published on June 9, 2026, Brand Finance valued Great Eastern's brand at US$4.9 billion, up 2% from the previous year. That placed it 33rd among the sector's top 100 brands by value. On brand strength, a score that measures how well a brand performs on factors such as familiarity, loyalty and perceived quality, Great Eastern scored 81.4 out of 100, which ranks 11th globally and earns an AAA rating. The company is the only Singapore insurance brand in the ranking. This article summarises Brand Finance's press release. An earlier version of this article described the ranking as a measure of the strongest insurers. Brand Finance's ranking measures brand value and brand strength as the consultancy calculates them, not an insurer's financial strength, claims-paying ability or customer service, so the article now makes that distinction.

What does the ranking mean? Brand valuation estimates how much a brand is worth, for example by assessing the revenue it contributes and the proportion attributable to the brand itself. The method is Brand Finance's own, and different consultancies reach different valuations. Brand strength is a separate measure based on a scorecard, and Brand Finance says Great Eastern's 81.4 places it eleventh worldwide. The press release does not name the other brands at the top of the list, so we cannot report who leads the ranking.

What drove Great Eastern's performance? According to the release, revenue growth came from stronger new policy sales and better agency performance in Singapore and Malaysia. Brand Finance also credits new product launches and growth in the financial advisor and bancassurance channels in Singapore. Bancassurance means selling insurance through bank branches and channels. These are the consultancy's explanations, and the release does not provide the underlying financial figures, so readers who want to assess the company's results should look at Great Eastern's own reports.

How did the sector do? The top 100 insurance brands grew 14% year on year to a combined US$606.7 billion, which Brand Finance describes as the sector's largest brand-value increase in five years. Great Eastern's 2% growth was therefore below the sector's rate, which is why its value rank of 33rd should be read alongside its strong brand-strength score. In other words, the brand is highly rated on quality measures but did not grow as fast in value terms as the average of the top 100.

What is the outlook? Brand Finance expects growth to moderate as rate-driven tailwinds fade. In the insurance context, rate-driven tailwinds refers to higher premiums and investment yields that boosted results in recent years. The consultancy expects insurers that invest in trust, digital capability, underwriting quality and long-term value creation to be best placed to keep growing. Alex Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific, said that an insurance brand's success is not determined by scale alone. That comment fits with Great Eastern's position: it ranks higher on strength than on value.

Why do brand rankings matter to customers? A strong brand can signal that a company is well known and trusted, but it should not be the only basis for choosing an insurer. Customers should look at financial strength ratings from agencies, claims-handling records, product features and prices. The Monetary Authority of Singapore regulates insurers and publishes information on the sector, and the Life Insurance Association Singapore publishes industry data. Brand Finance's ranking is a commercial product, and companies featured in it sometimes publicise their ranking, as Great Eastern's release suggests.

What are the limitations? The ranking depends on public financial information and on the consultancy's estimates and survey data. It does not include every insurer, and it measures the brand, not the entire company. For Great Eastern, the figure of US$4.9 billion is a notional value of the brand and not the value of the company or its shares.

How should readers interpret a brand-strength rating of AAA? Brand Finance's press release gives the score of 81.4 and the AAA rating, without setting out the full scale. The score reflects factors such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance as the consultancy measures them, according to its general description of the method. It indicates that a brand is well regarded and valuable, and that is useful to the company in attracting agents, partners and customers. It is not a rating of the insurer's ability to pay claims, which agencies such as AM Best, S&P and Fitch assess separately.

What about Malaysia? The release mentions better agency performance in both Singapore and Malaysia, which reflects the fact that Great Eastern operates in both markets. The release does not give figures for each country, so we cannot say how much each contributed. Readers wanting detail should consult the company's own financial reports.

For the wider sector, the 14% rise in value suggests that insurance brands benefited from strong results and from market conditions. Whether that continues depends on interest rates, claims and competition, which Brand Finance itself says are likely to moderate growth. This article summarises a press release and does not endorse any company. It is not investment advice.