Insurance
The environment in which insurers have spent most, if not all, of their careers is changing. We can help your business to come out on top.
Insurers are facing a disruptive set of social, economic, political, technological and environmental developments - a great opportunity for some and a big risk for others. The resulting shake-up can already be seen in areas ranging from the impact of price comparison sites to the pressure on both capital efficiency and operations generated by Solvency II and other emerging regulation. The longer term implications for the viability of strategies, business models and operating structures will be even more far-reaching.
Coming through stronger
We’re well-placed to help your business assess the implications of accelerating market and regulatory change and work with you to design your future and emerge stronger from the transformation ahead. Our specialist expertise in a range of key areas including assurance, consulting, actuarial, tax, human resources and transaction services is augmented by market leading analysis and contributions to the development of industry-wide best practice.
Rethinking strategy and reporting to tackle investor concerns
Over the last decade, the price/earnings and price/book ratios of many European insurers have fallen to low and undifferentiated levels, and many stock prices have become excessively driven by short-term macro issues. While the main factor behind this has been the exceptionally challenging market and economic backdrop, seemingly unconnected disclosures and reporting bases have been a major contributory factor.
Insurance leaders respond to climate change
The insurance sector is going to be one of the hardest hit by climate change, from rising claims to losses on investments. The winners in this sector will be those companies that understand the risks and opportunities facing their businesses, and embed it into their strategies and operations.
Read the ClimateWise report
Watch the video
Reinsurance strategy - Daring to be different
Looking beyond the immediate market environment reinsurers need to consider what factors will drive their future strategies and how these drivers could alter their business model. We’ve drawn insight from our research to identify future scenarios that will impact the volume and location of reinsurance demand. Those companies that differentiate their strategy by focusing on strong leadership, anticipating future trends and assessing demand in the evolving global risk landscape will ultimately emerge as the industry’s winners and with renewed investor interest.
Wholesale insurance: Standing out is in your hands
With growth stalling, premium prices falling and share values under-performing, many wholesale insurers appear to be running out of options.
Yet a combination of sharper risk analytics, the changing risk landscape and the increasing sophistication and strategic importance of risk management are opening up hugely rewarding and still largely untapped opportunities for value growth.
Exploring the risk agenda
PwC has joined forces with the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) to explore what risks insurers face and how they prioritise them.
The research questions insurers on three areas: current risks, future trends, and their preparedness to respond to the risk environment. It shows how the life, non-life, reinsurance and London Market sectors differ in outlook and provides valuable insights into the risk concerns at the top of the boardroom agenda.
Read the research Insurance Banana Skins 2011
New corporate risk research and point of view
PwC has sponsored independent research amongst corporates buying insurance and insurers providing it. Results are revealing, depicting inadequate disclosure, widespread ignorance of a very challenging insurance law framework, managerial failure to gather relevant information, deeply uncertain policies and a lack of understanding of how large claims are processed.
This is leaving companies vulnerable in the event of a large loss and subsequent dispute with their insurer.
PwC believes corporations, insurers and brokers, are missing the opportunity to engage on a much more transparent and educated basis. They need to explore ways to tackle these flaws to create a more informed, effective and commercially viable basis for insurance risk transfer?
Read the research report Corporate risk and insurance: the case for placement reform
Read the PwC point of view Tackling the deficiencies in corporate insurance
