Principal Financial Group Medical costs decreased by 36.6% to $1.61B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 27.4%, from $2.22B to $1.61B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Medical costs shows an upward trend with a 4.2% CAGR. This increase may warrant attention — for this metric, lower values are generally preferred.
Lower costs relative to premiums indicate higher underwriting efficiency and better medical cost management.
This represents the total expenses incurred for medical services, claims, and healthcare delivery provided to policyhold...
Standard for health insurers; peers often report this as the medical loss ratio component.
unh_medical_costs| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.81B | $1.77B | $2.30B | $1.49B | $1.44B | $1.80B | $1.90B | $1.77B | $1.83B | $1.71B | $2.47B | $2.07B | $2.08B | $1.78B | $2.15B | $2.22B | $1.84B | $1.96B | $2.54B | $1.61B |
| QoQ Change | — | -2.3% | +29.9% | -35.2% | -3.2% | +24.8% | +5.2% | -6.4% | +3.4% | -6.7% | +44.4% | -16.2% | +0.4% | -14.4% | +20.7% | +3.4% | -17.1% | +6.8% | +29.3% | -36.6% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -20.4% | +1.7% | -17.6% | +19.0% | +27.1% | -5.1% | +30.3% | +16.7% | +13.3% | +3.9% | -13.1% | +7.3% | -11.5% | +10.5% | +18.3% | -27.4% |
| Segment | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment Retirement And Income Solutions | $1.49B | $984.60M | $1.46B | $1.35B | $1.01B | $1.14B | $1.79B | $773.10M |
| Segment Benefits And Protection | $628.40M | $679.70M | $648.40M | $699.30M | $719.10M | $705.00M | $805.80M | $694.00M |
| Segment Principal Asset Management | $103.80M | $81.80M | $162.90M | $90.60M | $82.20M | $60.90M | $89.10M | $52.70M |
| Segment Corporate | -$2.00M | -$1.40M | — | $23.60M | -$800.00K | -$1.10M | $0.00 | $32.50M |
| Total | $2.08B | $1.78B | $2.15B | $2.22B | $1.84B | $1.96B | $2.54B | $1.61B |