Growth opportunities for insurers in developed markets are running out of runway and require increased efforts. Even though there is slow growth in some areas, regions such as China, India and Brazil have recently experienced a 140 percent increase in property/casualty insurance gross premiums between 2006 and 2011. This combination of push and pull factors is driving insurers to consider global diversification perhaps more now than at any other time in their history.

There is a clear, four-step framework that insurers can use to simplify the complex process of evaluating international expansion opportunities. Critical to this process is the distribution channel analysis. Insurers must understand that each market is different and they may need to tailor strategies to fit specific markets.

Step One: Market Maturity Analysis

Insurers need to take a close look at their current portfolios, inspecting economic, industry and demographic metrics of different countries where they are writing or where they plan to expand. Taking stock of these metrics will allow decision-makers to better understand each market’s maturity level—and enable them to group countries by maturity level, whether that be nascent, early emerging, late emerging or mature. It should be noted that there is no single definition of “market maturity.” Insurers should devise customized market maturity scores according to their product focus and growth strategy.