Santalucía SegurosWhen severe storms and torrential rainfall battered parts of Spain and Portugal this past winter, a family living in the Spanish city of Cádiz was temporarily unable to live in their home. Santalucía Seguros, an insurance company based in Madrid, activated emergency assistance right away and put the family in temporary accommodations. “Once the family was secure, the priority became helping them recover what truly mattered: their home and the sense of normality it represents,” says Andrés Romero, CEO of Santalucía Group. The firm assigned the family a dedicated claims manager, who followed up frequently and kept the family informed at every stage of the process. Romero says this one story speaks to a larger purpose at the firm: “caring for and protecting families in their most vulnerable moments.” That mission helped Santalucía earn the No. 1 spot for homeowners insurance in Spain on Forbes’ rankings of the World’s Best Insurance Companies 2026 (which includes three lists, each covering a distinct category of insurance: homeowners, auto and life). The insurer also ranked No. 5 in Spain on the life insurance list. To create this fourth annual edition of the World’s Best Insurance Companies, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista, which surveyed more than 45,000 people across 13 countries in early 2026. Respondents were required to have held at least one insurance policy for their home, car or life within the last three years. They were then asked a series of questions about how satisfied they were with their insurer and if they would recommend it to others. Participants were also asked to rate their insurer based on criteria including the advice offered, customer service, price performance, transparency and claims service. Ultimately, the responses were analyzed and scored, and 274 insurance companies with the highest scores made one or more of our final lists—110 companies on the homeowners insurance list, 135 on the auto insurance list and 140 on the life insurance list.Several insurance groups landed on multiple lists or in more than one country. AXA, for example, ranked in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom, and it took the No. 1 spot for life insurance in India. Allianz made the rankings in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., while Zurich ranked in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy and Japan. A major focus for Zurich is training its employees to be sensitive to what customers are going through when facing some of the toughest times in their lives. Last month, for example, the multinational insurance group announced it would be providing 60 hours of bereavement training for claims handlers and launching a bereavement support program for customers in the U.K. “Empathy isn’t a ‘nice to have,’ but fundamental to how we deliver value,” says Alison Martin, CEO of life, health and bank distribution at Zurich. She adds that the group plans to roll out a similar program in other markets. Empathy-centered training is a priority for LV= as well, which ranked as the U.K.’s No. 1 life insurance provider. “Customers often engage with us during difficult moments,” says LV= CEO David Hynam, and the firm trains employees so they understand how to act with compassion and support. The goal, Hynam says, is to help customers see life insurance “as a core part of long-term financial wellbeing rather than a daunting decision.”Tesco Insurance and Money ServicesAlso in the U.K, Tesco Insurance ranked No. 2 ranked for auto insurance and No. 4 for homeowners insurance. The firm belongs to the same parent company as the Tesco grocery chain, which enables the insurance firm to run a unique model, according to Alex Cross, chief customer officer for Tesco Insurance. Instead of figuring out how to maximize profits, “we start the other way around,” Cross says. “What do our customers really need, and how do we use the information we know about our customers to deliver better customer experience, better pricing, more value and more convenience?” If the insurance company can create a positive experience, says Cross, that boosts affinity for the Tesco brand, which can then translate to consumers choosing to shop at Tesco grocery stores. Further, when a consumer uses their club card at the supermarket, Tesco’s insurance arm has access to this purchasing data, which has helped Tesco unearth an interesting correlation: People who remember to bring their reusable shopping bags to the store have a lower risk profile from an insurance point of view versus those who don’t bring their bags. Why? The former group tends to be more organized and keep up with routine maintenance on their vehicles and homes. “They’re less likely to crash their car. They’re less likely to have home claims,” he says. As a result, Tesco has been able to identify those customers and offer them reduced premiums.In the auto insurance industry specifically, the market has changed in recent years as car technology has advanced. Features like automated braking and lane assist systems now help to prevent crashes, which in turn leads to fewer crash-related claims, Cross says. But, he notes, when there is a crash, it is often more pricey to repair. Newer cars typically have cameras and sensors in their bumpers, so if a vehicle is rear-ended, what used to be a relatively simple, inexpensive fix with some spray paint now may cost thousands to fix and replace sensors. As for the insurance firms, many providers that ranked on our lists say they’re contending with increased costs and risks caused by inflation, rising property values, supply chain challenges, extreme weather and even the price of reinsurance, which is essentially insurance for insurance companies. Climate change is one of the biggest concerns for the property and casualty insurance industry, according to Valérie Lavoie, president and chief operating officer of Canada’s Desjardins General Insurance Group (No. 4 for auto, No. 5 for homeowners and No. 5 for life insurance in Canada). Canada’s geography is diverse, and the country faces exposure to many types of extreme weather, from flooding to wildfires to severe storms. “As insurers, our role has traditionally been to help people recover after a loss,” Lavoie says. Now, however, Desjardins has begun educating customers on prevention measures, like using more durable materials in their homes. And on the back end, the insurance firm is investing in analytics to improve modeling of severe weather events.At the heart of the insurance sector, though, is people, and Lavoie says she wishes the insurance industry as a whole would create a simpler and more straightforward experience for customers. “Too often, interactions with insurers feel complex or burdensome, especially at moments when people are already under stress,” she says. To that end, Desjardins has added flexible payment options and simplified some of its administrative processes. Last year, the organization introduced claims tracking in its mobile app so people can follow a claim in real time and move between mobile and web without losing continuity. Santalucía is also using modern technology in customer interactions. It launched an AI-powered virtual assistant in its contact center, so when a customer calls, the AI uses natural language, identifies who the customer is and why they’re calling, and routes the person to the appropriate team. According to Romero, for 83% of the calls, the agent correctly identifies the customer, and 92% of the time, the agent understands the intent of the call. What’s more, the calls, along with surveys, written feedback, online reviews and social media comments, feed into a singular analytical model. With all the data in one place, the company can spot potential issues and intervene before a problem gets worse.Like Santalucía and many other insurers, LV= is also using AI. The U.K. insurance firm is piloting AI to support underwriting—the process insurance companies use to assess risk and determine coverage eligibility. Hyman of LV= says AI can sort complex medical and lifestyle data, which makes underwriting for life insurance policies faster and more consistent. That said, he emphasizes that automation “cannot replace empathy or professional judgement.”To find the top insurance companies offering both tech advances and a human touch, check out our rankings below.For the full list of the World’s Best Homeowners Insurance Companies, click here.For the full list of the World’s Best Auto Insurance Companies, click here.For the full list of the World’s Best Life Insurance Companies, click here.MethodologyTo create the 2026 edition of the World’s Best Insurance Companies, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista, which surveyed more than 45,000 people across 13 countries in early 2026. Respondents were required to have held at least one insurance policy for their home, car or life within the last three years. They were then asked a series of questions about how satisfied they were with their insurer and if they would recommend it to others. Participants were also asked to rate their insurer based on criteria including the advice employees offered, customer service, price performance, transparency and claims service. Ultimately, the responses were analyzed and scored, and 274 insurance companies with the highest scores landed on one or more of our final lists—110 companies on the homeowners insurance list, 135 on the auto insurance list and 140 on the life insurance list.As with all Forbes lists, companies do not pay to be considered or selected. To read more about how we make these lists, click here. For questions about this list, please email listdesk [at] forbes.com.