The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies

Increasing profitability, market share and competitive edge
Financial Services Management Report
Source: The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies
Total life and non-life premium volume
in the top five European markets
“Last year saw a further decrease in life insurance premium
income, in many countries including the UK. This trend is
because of the recession and persistent low interest rates,
resulting in life insurers offering lower returns...”
Improve profitability and exploit new opportunities in insurance markets
using this new report’s analysis of the strategies helping top insurers remain global leaders...
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Total Premium Volume (€m)
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Business Intelligence for the Financial Services Industry
“Japan is an
over-insured market.
Three of the top 10
Japanese insurers,
Mitsui Life, Sumitomo
Life, and Asahi Life,
have been marked
with non-investment
grade ratings...”
Examining the Key Issues
• Bancassurance - identify the most effective models using this
report’s examination of penetration levels and profiles of major
European bancassurers including Lloyds TSB, Allianz, Banca
Unicredito and Caj Madrid.
• New European regulations - predict their effects by reading this
reports explanation of the impact of changes to regulations
including depolarization in the UK and pension reform in Germany.
• Global stock-market decline - discover the strategies global
insurers are implementing to compensate for the resulting
reduction premium revenues and sluggish growth.
• Mergers and Acquisitions - they may offer access to new market
segments, new products and new customers, but find out the real
costs and benefits of mergers including that of Allianz and Dresdner
in this report’s analysis of merger activity.
Germany 19% 51% 9% 21% 0%
UK 18% 17% - 56% 9%
Italy 56% 34% 9% 1% 0%
France 61% 8% 6% 9% 16%
Spain 77% 0% 3% 20% 0%
IFAs/ Other
brokers
Direct
sales-force
Tied
agents
Banks/
bancassurers
Country
The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies
The Answers to Your Questions
• Which countries show the most rapid growth in insurance premiums?
• What is the most effective method of life insurance distribution
through bancassurance in each of the major European markets?
• What are the key characteristics of the world's most successful
insurers?
• How and why are so many insurers seeking to enter new markets?
• Which life insurance distribution channels are the most popular in
Europe and why?
• How are insurers reacting to the effects of stock-market decline?
Last year, after two years of worldwide recession the insurance market
finally showed signs of recovery. However, increased competition from
new entrants combined with a lack of consumer confidence still create a
difficult environment in which to either acquire or retain customers.
The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies: Increasing profitability,
market share and competitive edge provides an overview of the
global insurance market, including statistics on both life and non life
insurance. Uniquely, this report not only details the global insurance
market but also analyses the key issue of bancassurance. Ten extensive
profiles of global insurers are included, examining the reasons behind
each organisation’s growth, their potential weaknesses and defining the
threats that could affect their global position in the future.
Find new ways to gain profit using this report's analysis of key
market trends and the strategies of the world's most successful
insurers.
“The most successful bancassurance market in
Europe is Spain, where banks dominate the market
with 77% market share. Prior to 1992, banks were
not allowed to distribute life assurance products.
Spanish banks own seven of the top 10 life
assurance competitors...”
Source: The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies:
Increasing profitability, market share and
competitive edge
Distribution of life assurance by distribution
channel
Source: The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies
“After the lesson
learned by the Allianz
and Dresdner deal,
bancassurance players
prefer strong
partnerships rather
than full-scale
mergers...”
• Growth rates in the global insurance industry are recovering after
two years of global recession. To limit exposure to the stock-market
insurers are trying to diversify their portfolios into less risky products
including bonds.
• Insurers are expanding their product offerings and making their
services more customer friendly in search of higher profitability.
• Non-life insurance growth is being driven by renewed premium
rate increases rather than new business, as new non-financial
entrants create competition.
• Unit linked insurance real growth was negative in France, Spain
and the UK as customers were reluctant to buy products directly
linked to the stock-market.
• Developing markets in Asia are now an increasingly attractive
market for insurers, especially China, because of its strong growth
and low insurance market penetration.
Key findings from this report
The Value Proposition
Benefit from 130 pages of expert insight and analysis, enabling you to:
• Increase profitability by directing your investments to the
products and markets targeted by top insurers.
• Identify the best bancassurance strategy for your company
using this report's examination of the most successful European
bancassurance models.
• Benchmark your performance against the top European
insurers, learn best practices, avoid their mistakes, replicate their
successes and be aware of the potential threats they are facing.
• Improve your strategic planning using global premium income
and growth data split at country level.
“UK insurers face
tighter regulations
after the collapse of
the commercial
insurer, Independent
Insurance and the
problems at Equitable
Life, the world's oldest
mutual life assurer...”
“Almost all of the
global insurers are
trying to win a share
of the precious, fast
growing Chinese
market, forecasted by
FT World Insurance to
be $33.82 billion by
2005...”
Strengths
Strong U.S. brand name:
State Farm has been in the insurance business for over 75 years and during this
time the company has grown from a small farm mutual auto insurer to one of
the world's largest financial institutions. Further, its customer oriented service,
strong distribution network in the United States and positive financial ratings all
contribute to its brand image, which can be leveraged suitably.
Major U.S. property and casualty insurer
State Farm is the main home insurer in the United States, the company has over
73 million policies in force and about 28 million households are insured with
the company. One out of every five automobiles in the United States is insured
by State Farm, meaning that State Farm is the main car insurer in the country.
The company is licensed to sell insurance products in all 50 states, an
advantage over other insurance companies operating there.
Extensive distribution network
State Farm has about 76,000 employees working across the United States and Canada and nearly 17,000 agents who are trained to sell State
Farm insurance products and 58,000 staff members. However, the company had to close some of its offices, including the Winter Haven office.
Weaknesses
Risk factors: weather and equity markets
State Farm has significant exposure to severe weather, such as windstorms and hail, given its top five market share throughout the United
States. Another risk is the fact that the personal lines insurance industry is heavily regulated, which imposes limits on company's ability to alter
rates, or products. Additionally, State Farm is exposed to equity market volatility and it has asbestos exposure in discontinued operations, which
further increases the risk the business faces. The exposure to equity markets was one of the reasons why the year 2001 experienced the largest
underwriting loss ever. The year 2003 saw some improvements, and the property and casualty ratio for State Farm has improved, by moving
from 125.1% in 2001 to 100.6% in 2003.
Home insurance, construction, replacement, repair costs
Homeowners insurance is facing some difficulties at the moment, due to the fact that according to some insurers, it is now increasingly used
like a warranty product, rather than protection against sudden and accidental losses. Competitive actions over the course of previous years,
such as offering low deductibles and inadequate exclusions for mould or water damage claims in the policy form, contributed to the lowered
threshold for filing a claim affecting all homeowner insurers. At the end of 2002 the company announced an unexpected increase in
homeowners insurance rates by an average 5.2%. According to State Farm, although mould and water claims are starting to stabilise now in
the homeowners insurance market, construction, replacement and repair costs are increasing.
Mutual status means lack of ability to raise capital
State Farm insurance is a large mutual insurance company, which means that it is owned by its policyholders. However, the mutual status
restricts the potential for development transparency of its operations and it means that the company is unable to raise capital by selling
stocks, which can be used for funding growth and paying for acquisitions.
Sample information from the report
Chapter 9: State Farm Insurance Companies
Threats
• High interest rate increases
• Increasing property prices
• Regulatory changes
• Competition
Opportunities
• Cost conscious management
• Small business insurance market
Weaknesses
• Risk factors: weather, equity performance
• Home insurance, construction, repair and
replacement costs
• Mutual status means lack of ability to raise
capital
Strengths
• Strong US brand name
• Major US property and casualty insurer
• Extensive distribution network
State Farm Insurance Companies
SWOT Analysis
Source: The Top 10 Global Insurance Companies
Order this report today to find out more...
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• The global insurance market overview
• The top 10 global insurers: Company analysis
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
• Report structure
- Global insurance overview
- Introducing the top 10 global insurance companies
CHAPTER 2: THE GLOBAL INSURANCE OVERVIEW
• Summary
• Introduction
• Life and non-life insurance markets worldwide
- Definitions
• European life bancassurance overview
- Unit linked policies
- Opportunities in European bancassurance
- Regulations
CHAPTER 3: ALLIANZ
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 4: AXA
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 5: AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC.
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
CHAPTER 6: ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI S.P.A.
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
CHAPTER 7: ING GROEP N.V.
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 8: NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 9: STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 10: AVIVA PLC
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 11: ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company activity snapshot
CHAPTER 12: THE DAI-ICHI MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY
• Summary
• Overview
• History
• SWOT analysis
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
• Company news
CHAPTER 13: REPORT CONCLUSIONS
• Summary
• Global insurance industry recovers
• Japanese stagnation
• China, the land of potential
• Stricter regulations
• Bancassurance
CHAPTER 14: APPENDIX
• Definitions of distribution channels
• Index
TABLES
- Total life/non-life premium volume
(top five European markets, 2000-2003)
- Stock market indices
(major European markets, 2000-2004)
- Total life insurance premium volume
(top five European countries, 2000-2003)
- Allianz SWOT Analysis
- Axa SWOT Analysis
- AIG SWOT Analysis
- Generali SWOT Analysis
- ING Groep SWOT Analysis
- Nippon Life Insurance Company SWOT Analysis
- State Farm Insurance SWOT Analysis
- Aviva SWOT Analysis
- Zurich SWOT Analysis
- Dai-Ichi SWOT Analysis
FIGURES