Insurance executives overseeing a collective $29 trillion in assets say they plan to increase their exposure to private markets, bumping up their allocations to direct lending while cutting back on real estate and private equity, according to a new survey of the industry by BlackRock. Of the 378 senior-level respondents to BlackRock's 12th annual Global Insurance Report published Sept. 27, 60% said they planned to readjust their strategic asset allocation to focus on flexibility and new investment opportunities. Increasing their allocation to private markets was the top priority for 89% of insurers, with 60% planning to focus those allocations on direct lending. More than one-third of respondents said they planned to cut back on allocations to real estate debt, real estate equity and private equity.