Introduction

Analyses the general insurance markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China

Scope

• Insight into the ease of access for foreign investors and the current level of foreign capital in these countries' non-life industry
• An understanding of the main issues facing each country including the latest regulatory developments
• A glimpse into the current market size in each country as well as insurance density information

Highlights

As the economies of these countries grow and average incomes rise, more and more of the population will be able to afford retail insurance products and take up will increase. In addition, so too will the size of the commercial non-life insurance markets. For foreign investors all of the BRIC countries offer superior growth prospects.

The Brazilian non-life insurance market was valued at $13.4 billion in 2005 making it the 16th largest non-life market in the world. Like many emerging markets it is experiencing strong growth, it grew by 6 per cent in 2005 and with an insurance density of just $72.1 there is clearly room for further expansion.

There are currently 8 privately owned non-life insurers in India, the majority of which are joint ventures between Indian and foreign insurers, which include Chubb, Allianz, Lombard, Tokio General, Mitsui Sumitomo, Royal & SunAlliance and AIG.

Reasons to Purchase

• Understand the current size and structure of the non-life market in the BRIC countries
• Develop your market entry strategy through insight into regulations on foreign capital
• Compare and contrast the potential of the non-life markets in the BRIC area

• Catalyst
• Summary
• Methodology
  • AnaLYSIS
  • All four BRIC countries have tremendous growth ahead of them, but India and China are the two stand-out countries in terms of long-term potential
  • The non-life insurance markets are under-developed in all four of the BRIC countries and so offer high growth potential
  • Foreign investors should prioritize the Indian and Chinese non-life markets because they are likely to be by far the largest non-life markets in the world in the long-term
  • Ease of market access for foreign insurers varies by country, with the Brazilian insurance industry having the highest share of foreign capital
  • All four BRIC countries have made strides in opening up their insurance markets
  • Foreign firms account for 35 per cent of the insurance industry in Brazil, but less than 5 per cent of the industry in Russia, India and China
  • The Brazilian non-life insurance market is experencing strong growth and further reforms present opportunities for foreign investors
  • The Brazilian non-life insurance market has an attractive growth profile
  • Foreign capital makes up a significant proportion of the Brazilian non-life market
  • The Brazilian non-life insurance market is set to undergo further reform, including the opening up of the reinsurance market, creating further opportunities for foreign investors
  • The Russian non-life market is very attractive in growth terms and with Russia's possible accession to the WTO, foreign capital restrictions should be eased
  • The Russian non-life insurance market is experiencing strong growth and this is forecast to continue driven by the commercial sector in the short-term
  • Foreign market access to the Russian insurance industry has improved in recent years
  • Russia is likely to ease existing restrictions on foreign capital in the near future as it negotiates its entry into the WTO
  • The Indian insurance market is in its infancy with low density and therefore offers huge growth opportunities to state owned insurers and foreign investors alike
  • Insurance density in India is very low, which means that there is scope for the insurance industry to see huge expansion in the long-term as the economy grows
  • A number of foreign investors participate in the Indian non-life market
  • The Indian insurance industry is going to de-tariff in 2007 creating opportunities for foreign owned insurers to capitalise on their more advanced technology and rating systems
  • The Chinese non-life insurance market is developing fast and has lifted many restrictions on foreign capital, however there are potential issues over recruitment
  • The Chinese non-life insurance market is developing fast and will continue to do so as its economy grows
  • China has lifted many of the restrictions on foreign access to its non-life insurance market
  • Foreign investors in the Chinese non-life market should consider their ability to recruit and retain the necessary talent
• Appendix
  • Additional data
  • Extended methodology
• Further reading
  • Ask the analyst
• List of Tables
  • Table 1: Selected non-life insurance statistics for Brazil, Russia, India, China, 2005
• List of Figures
  • Figure 1: The Indian and Chinese non-life insurance markets have the potential to reach significant sizes