Emerging markets on “frontier of insurance”: Swiss Re

Non-life premiums in emerging markets are expected to double over the next decade, according to Swiss Re’s latest sigma study. While premiums in these markets, which include Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, were about US$123 billion last year but this figure is expected to blossom to US$250 billion by 2014, Swiss Re predicts.
“Impressive growth prospects for emerging markets are putting them at the frontier of insurance,” says Clarence Wong, head of economic research and consulting for Swiss Re in Asia. “Among the emerging markets, China and India are very much in the spotlight, on account of their huge populations, growing economic importance and fast liberalizing regulatory regimes.”
Growth prospects for life business are even greater, with premiums expected to rise from US$188 billion in 2003 to US$450 billion by 2014. Life premiums have grown by 10.4% in emerging countries over the last decade, compared to 3.4% growth in industrialized countries. And in the non-life segment, premiums have grown 7.3% annually in emerging nations, versus 2.6% in industrialized countries. Swiss premium growth to continue this rapid pace, moving forward at 7.5% growth per year over the coming decade.
However, there is great variance among emerging countries, with the top ten countries accounting for 66% of non-life premiums and 87% of life premiums.