With insurance markets already mature in Europe and North America, carriers are eager to find new markets in which to expand. Many are looking to Latin America and Africa.
Executive Summary
Insurance penetration is low throughout Southeast Asia, offering opportunities for insurance carriers to grow in the region. But according to credit insurer Coface, business climates vary, with places like Malaysia and the Philippines offering less business and credit risk to commercial businesses and insurers that expand in those countries than to those seeking investment and business growth opportunities in Indonesia and Vietnam.But it is the Asia-Pacific region that offers the best prospects for growth. Home to 60 percent of the world’s population, the area leads the world in current and future GNP growth. Insurance industry consultants predict the region will be the source of more than half of the world’s premium growth over the next 10 years. (See, for example, Economist, Oct. 27, 2012 article, “Insurance in Asia: Tantalizing but Tough.”)
While teeming with premium and profit potential, it is difficult to provide an industry overview of a region so geographically, economically and culturally diverse. However, the region’s insurance market can be divided into three general sectors.
