A.M. BestTV: European Insurers Struggle to Grow Faster, Says A.M. Best Director

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In this episode of ^A.M.BestTV, Timothy Prince, director, analytics, A.M. Best, said many insurers in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are experiencing single-digit growth, which increases pressure to develop new business strategies and consider mergers and acquisitions. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=europeaninsurers1018 to view the entire program.

Although growth remains important to European non-life insurers, Prince said they increasingly are focused on delivering returns to shareholders and underwriting good quality business.

“Overall, growth in gross written premiums is in the low single digits in each of the five major markets of the United Kingdom and Europe,” said Prince. “In this environment, it is very difficult for insurance to grow at a faster rate than the economy, given the competition that is already in place. Companies are focus on improving the value of their offerings to policyholders and trying to strengthen their distribution channels, as well as trying to enter new territories or to acquire underwriting expertise so that they can start writing new products.”

Prince also highlighted how innovation has influenced the industry.

“Companies on the front end have advances in digital products and computers,” he said. “On the underwriting side, with the use of big data and sophisticated analytical techniques, there have been enhancements to the underwriting approach in their selection of risk, and on the back end, with regards to claims management, the use of artificial intelligence and robots are increasing, which effectively reduces costs for insurance companies.”

To access a copy of this market segment report, titled, “European Insurers’ Focus on Profitability Overrides Desire to Grow Top-Line,” visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=277447.

On Nov. 6, 2018, A.M. Best will host an event, titled, “Insurance Market Briefing – Europe & Methodology Review Seminar,” at the etc.venues St. Paul’s in London. For more information, visit http://www.ambest.com/conferences/imbeurope2018/index.html.

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^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

A.M. Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information.