Sixth place Mapfre Group, the Spanish insurer that produced the report, experienced the highest increase in premium on a year-over-year basis, up more than 13 percent to €14.5 billion ($18.2 billion).

Switzerland-based insurer Zurich and Achmea in the Neatherlands (former name Eureko) were the only two of the 10 to record negative premium growth, of 1.4 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.

Zurich's premium loss was blamed on currency exchange. Mapfre notes that Zurich presents its results in U.S. dollars, which produced a premium increase of close to 5 percent.

Achmea's premium revenue drop was caused by the sale of Avéro Belgium in early 2011.

Mapfre notes that the difficulties insurers faced with the economic climate and natural catastrophe losses “were partly offset by the dynamism of the emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.”

Total insurance losses on a global scale from natural disasters amounted to $110 billion, the report says, with insured damage in Asia surpassing $49 billion.

The most expensive natural disaster for insurers in the European insurance sector was flooding in Denmark in July of 2011, which caused an estimated $800 million in damage. Winter storms also caused additional damage in the north of Europe and along the Mediterranean coast, the report notes.