London Market Group: The London (re)insurance market is in good shape, albeit in a changed world

Business Wire

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The London Market Group (LMG) and McKinsey launched the London Matters 2020 report today, an update on the London (re)insurance market’s position between 2010 and 2018. The data and analysis reflect this period, but the report does not include any impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key statistics include:

The London Market remains the largest global (re)insurance hub, and the gap between London and the total gross written premium written in Bermuda, Switzerland and Singapore has widened from $16bn in 2015 to $23bn in 2018.
London’s share of the global commercial (re)insurance market has remained steady since 2010 at an average of 7.6%. Commercial insurance share has grown by 0.1 percentage point, while its share of global reinsurance has fallen by 1.7 percentage points.
North America replaces the UK & Ireland as the biggest source of income into the London Market.
London continued to underperform in Asia and Africa.

Matthew Moore, Chair of the LMG said; “This report finds the London Market in good shape. Aggregate market share held steady, maintaining London’s global dominance and attracting more US business than ever before. Nevertheless, some of the underlying challenges remain. Our share of reinsurance business is shrinking and in emerging markets it remains small.

“However, the effects on market structure, products, processes and working practices caused by the COVID-19 crisis are likely to be profound and long-lasting. The current crisis shows that the London Market can support its trading partners and clients through the toughest of challenges, and the fact it is doing so today is in part down to its adoption of previous LMG initiatives. For example, electronic placement has meant that remote working has been possible, and that contracts have been placed and renewed with legal certainty. The (re)insurance industry’s support for the wider business community has never been more important, whatever the circumstances they face.”

The report tracks the key data on the London Market including overall size, breakdown by class of business, geographical sources of risks and its financial contribution. For the first time it looks specifically at investment in the London Market, the contribution its claims make to the wider global economy and changes to the make-up of its (re)insurers.

ENDS