The insurance marketplace is in a state of flux and companies are preparing to make the most of new opportunities while dodging threats, the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers Global CEO Survey shows. 

People are living longer and have more wealth to protect, which presents insurers with an opportunity, but threats come from mounting commoditisation, the squeeze on margins and the increase in self-insurance.

“This reflects both intensifying price competition and difficulties in conveying the true value of the coverage [insurers] sell,” the report says.

Insurance CEOs believe new regulations, increasing competition, technological developments around service provision and changes in distribution will have a disruptive impact over the next five years.

Nearly half of insurance CEOs plan to enter into joint ventures or strategic alliances over the next year. Two-thirds view these as an opportunity to access new customers.

Respondents say the global trends that threaten the greatest disruption are changes in industry regulation (88%), changes in customer behaviour (71%) and changes in distribution channels (69%). 

But QBE Group CEO John Neal, one of the executives interviewed, is unfazed by these and other challenges.

“You’ve got to look at disruptors and see what you can learn from them,” he told the researchers.

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