The global market for health and medical insuranceproviders not only topped $1 trillion in 2016, coming in at $1.1trillion, but a new report predicts that it will continue to climb at a dizzying pace.

A BCC Research report estimatesmarket growth—which came in at $1.2 trillion in 2017—to hit $1.6trillion in 2020. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 8.6percent for the period 2016–2020.

Categorizing health and medical insurance providers bytype—agents and brokers’ direct writing, bancassurance andothers—as well as by product and geographical region, the study sought todetermine the global market and future demand growth for health andmedical insurance providers over the five-year period from 2016through 2020.

It finds that growth in the global market is being fueled bycontinued economic growth; an expanding health care market;positive demographic trends; reforms and initiatives bygovernments; policies inviting foreign investment; risingpollution; increasing income levels; and rising healthawareness.

It also reports that the market is “currently in a very crucialphase of transformation,” thanks to a rise in disposable income, aswell as to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases spurringincreased demand for health care services. But it is also“marginally consolidated,” with a few large players dominating themarket. Among the big names at the top are UnitedHealth Group Inc.,Anthem, Allianz, Aetna Inc., Humana, and Centene Corporation.

Projected growth by region varies widely, with expectations thatthe Asia-Pacific market will grow from 2016’s $98.9 billion to$193.8 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 18.3 percent for the period2016–2020, while in western Europe the market will grow from $136.3billion in 2016 to $154.2 billion in 2020 at a CAGR of 3.1 percentfor 2016–2020.

Other factors cited as contributors to these growth projectionsinclude increasing investments in public health insurance systemsand a growing aging population, particularly in developingcountries such as India, China and Brazil.