Global Insurance Industry is likely to grow in the next few years. According to a GIA report, the Global Insurance Industry will see an exponential growth worldwide and is likely to register around $6.1 trillion by way of insurance premiums before 2015. This growth would be driven by various factors such as quick processing methods, favorable demographic trends, technology-driven sales, introduction of new and innovative products, demand from new markets in the Asia-Pacific region etc.
The Global Insurance Industry is primarily dominated by the industrialized nations as they account for a major share in life as well as non-life insurance sectors. The leading markets for life insurance worldwide are still industrialized nations such as Japan, US, France, Germany, and the UK. Liberal taxation in the Western European markets as well as the opening up of the East European markets has positioned Europe as one of the prominent markets for insurance worldwide. Although the mature markets in North America have an important role to play in shaping the fortunes of this industry, the growth opportunities seem to be sluggish due to protracted weakness in the savings market in the long term, thereby increasing competition from some of the financial services with high earnings.
In Japan, the financial reforms that are underway seem to be fortifying the life insurance sector in the nation. However, some of the top life insurance companies would still be continuing their expansion in the China as well as other developing markets in Asia. The public and private pension plans are also likely to witness a huge growth due to the aging population worldwide.
One of the key platforms for business transactions in the Global Insurance Industry is through the internet. The extensive use of the net has helped in reducing the gap between customers as well as insurance providers, thereby offering a user-friendly interface that is highly flexible. Companies can now showcase their innovative products with the help of the internet. They can reach a larger clientele in a short period of time. This helps in boosting business opportunities throughout the Global Insurance Industry. It also helps in reducing the administrative and marketing costs for companies as the need to employ a sales force is thereby eliminated. However, the flip side to this is the fact that the Global Insurance Industry will face a huge shortage of manpower in the marketing sector, underwriters, as well as management cadres.
