Although insurance companies were believed to be less vulnerable to systemic risk compared to banks, we have observed failures of insurance companies and the subsequent financial markets turmoil. During the global financial crisis, the severe liquidity shortage was also highlighted. This study employs connectedness indices to examine the relevance of systemic liquidity risk for financial institutions including insurance companies. Results show that the effect of the global liquidity squeeze on the CDS spreads of insurance companies, particularly those whose main business is variable annuities with guaranteed minimum payments, was significant. Secondly, banks were likely to have a larger responsibility for the global fundraising liquidity condition. Although the development of systemic liquidity risk originating from insurance companies does not seem plausible, we cannot ignore that the aggravation of the creditworthiness of insurance companies might be propagated and amplified to the rest of the financial system.