Europe’s top three emerging insurance markets: Turkey, Poland and Russia

Turkey, Poland and Russia are Europe’s top three emerging insurance market opportunities according to ACE regional president of continental Europe, Joseph Clabby.

Speaking at the Insurance Day Summit this week, Clabby identified four trends that would help drive future insurance market developments in these countries.

He said economic advantage was one trend, representing “the centre of gravity of the global economy shifts east and south” and trade revolution was another, “emerging market growth radically changes the shape of future trade flows”. Continual increase in confidence among investors and greater individual wealth are two more factors that are driving business growth.

Clabby also identified five specific lines of business that presented opportunities for insurers and brokers. These include liability, financial lines, energy and power, multinational services, and specialty consumer lines.

On financial lines, he said: “D&O is best thought of as a new product in many emerging markets and European insurers and brokers have a key role to play in providing capacity, sharing expertise and helping local markets to develop.”

For insurers with the balance sheet and the expertise within the energy and power business line “emerging Europe presents considerable prospects”, he highlighted.

 “Western companies are increasingly seeking cover for their overseas subsidiaries in these markets, while firms based in emerging Europe are also expanding abroad and looking for compliant insurance solutions”, he said of multinational services.

However Clabby warned that prospective investors must realise that emerging Europe is not immune to what is happening elsewhere in the world. A fresh euro-crisis, Asian economic slowdown, and regional political and social instability could all pose challenges in emerging European markets.

He concluded that overall, ACE was confident about the prospects for the insurance markets in emerging Europe: “All of us in this room are rightly excited about the opportunities in markets such as China, Brazil and India. But my message today is this. The European insurance market should not look overlook the opportunities close to home.”