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Competition in UK Commercial General Insurance 2007

Datamonitor
December 4, 2007
72 Pages - SKU: DFMN1640452

Abstract Table of Contents Search inside this report Related Reports

Countries covered: United Kingdom

Introduction

This brief analyzes the competitive situation within the UK commercial general insurance market across key commercial lines, providing insight into competitor strategies and the major issues affecting the market.

Scope

Analysis of competitive dynamics, with profiles of the main competitors' market share changes Analysis of performance ratios across the major commercial insurance lines Information on key mergers and acquisitions, job losses and industry news

Highlights

Royal & SunAlliance retained its position as the UK's largest commercial insurance provider in 2006, although it saw a decline in GWP. Its total commercial premium income fell by 4.3 percentage points to £2,250m. On average, commercial insurers ranked 1120 saw premium income decline in 2006, but results varied significantly, largely depending on which markets the insurer was most dependent. For example, companies with a focus on the liability, commercial property and commercial motor markets tended to see GWP decline. The top 10 UK motor insurers recorded an average combined ratio of 97.8% in 2006, which represents a four percentage point decrease from 2005. Moreover, this reduction moved the average from a position of underwriting loss into underwriting profit.

Reasons to Purchase

Benchmark your company's performance against your competitors using current and historical data. View performance ratios for the leading insurers in the liability, motor, property, group accident and health and pecuniary loss markets Understand the key issues shaping the commercial general insurance market

DATAMONITOR VIEW: CATALYST; SUMMARY; ANALYSIS; Introduction; The market saw a number of mergers and acquisitions, many involving brokers; AXA acquired numerous commercial brokers in 2007, reinforcing its position in the SME sector; Groupama acquired a majority stake in Lark Group in August 2007; Direct Line began to offer business insurance in 2007; Equity Insurance Group recorded a large number of small-scale acquisitions; Towergate continued to acquire numerous brokers in 2007; Other brokers acquiring included Jelf, Oval, Aon and JLT; A number of insurers announced job cuts in 2007 in order to make cost savings; The largest three UK commercial insurers all recorded a decline in commercial insurance GWP in 2006; Royal & SunAlliance retained its position as the largest UK commercial insurance provider in 2006; Norwich Union recorded a fall of 3.3% in commercial insurance GWP; Zurich saw premium income fall across all of its commercial books in 2006; AXA recorded the highest increase in GWP of any top 10 UK commercial insurer in 2006; Allianz recorded a significant decline in commercial insurance GWP in 2006 as its commercial property book contracted; New Hampshire recorded a 1.7% decline in commercial GWP in 2006; BUPA suffered a 6.4% decline in GWP as conditions worsened in the group accident and health market; ACE recorded GWP growth of 2.6%; NFU Mutual recorded a strong set of results in 2006, increasing commercial motor, liability and property GWP; NIG recorded the second highest GWP growth rate among the top 10 UK commercial insurers; Softening market conditions meant numerous insurers ranked between 11 and 20 saw GWP decline, although a handful saw GWP growth; A number of insurers ranked between 11 and 20 saw GWP decline due to the poor market conditions; Groupama, Standard Life, Ecclesiastical and CNA saw commercial GWP increase in 2006; Most of the top 10 commercial insurers had a good mix of commercial and personal business in 2006; The profitability of the top 10 accident and health insurers deteriorated in 2006 due to increases in loss ratios; The top 10 accident and health insurers recorded an average loss ratio of 63.7% in 2006, with the majority seeing an increase in their loss ratio; The average loss ratio of 63.7% in 2006 was a 3.5 percentage point increase from 2005; Standard Life combined a growing book of business with a smaller loss ratio; Combined Insurance Company of America was the only top 10 accident and health insurer to see a loss ratio reduction other than Standard Life; Five insurers saw loss ratios increase at the same time as their books grew; New Hampshire and BUPA saw loss ratios increase while their books declined in size; The top 10 accident and health insurers recorded an average expense ratio of 29.9% in 2006; Three of the top 10 accident and health insurers saw their expense ratios decrease while their books grew; Combined Insurance Company of America saw its book shrink and its expense ratios reduce; Norwich Union, SimplyHealth and AXA saw expense ratios increase as their books expanded; Two insurers saw their expense ratios increase alongside a shrinking book of business; The top 10 accident and health insurers recorded an average combined ratio of 93.6% in 2006, although two of the biggest players saw their ratios move above 100%; The top 10 accident and health insurers achieved an average combined ratio of 93.6% in 2006; Groupama and Standard Life both saw their combined ratios decrease in 2006 and their books grow, but Groupama's ratio remained above 100%; Combined Insurance Company of America's loss ratio fell by 5.8 percentage points; Six of the top 10 insurers saw their combined ratios increase in 2006; The performance of the top 10 liability insurers was mixed in 2006 with some seeing better profits while a few players recorded significant losses; The average loss ratio of the top 10 UK liability insurers rose by 9.7 percentage points in 2006, but Norwich Union and QBE recorded large reductions; The average loss ratio for the top 10 liability insurers rose by 9.7 percentage points in 2006; Norwich Union and QBE saw the largest improvements in their loss ratios; Zurich saw the largest deterioration in its loss ratio in 2006; The average expense ratio of the top 10 liability insurers increased by 3.2 percentage points in 2006, with New Hampshire recording the largest increase; The average expense ratio rose by 3.2 percentage points in 2006 to 30.5%; New Hampshire recorded the largest increase in its expense ratio but remained one of the most efficient players; Royal & SunAlliance, AXA and Allianz were the least efficient UK liability insurers in 2006; The average combined ratio of the top 10 UK liability insurers increased in 2006, with Zurich and AXA seeing the two biggest increases; The average combined ratio increased in 2006 by 12.9 percentage points to 102.1%; Norwich Union and QBE bucked the trend and recorded improvements in their loss ratios; Six of the top 10 UK liability insurers recorded combined ratios below 100% in 2006; Four insurers recorded combined ratios in excess of 100% in 2006; The top 10 motor insurers made the move into profitability in 2006 on the back of reductions in losses and expenses; The average loss ratio among the top 10 UK motor insurance providers declined in 2006 with AXA, Norwich Union and Churchill recording the biggest improvements; In 2006, the average loss ratio of the top 10 UK motor insurers fell by 3.3 percentage points to 71.1%; AXA, Norwich Union and Churchill recorded the strongest loss ratio reductions; Four insurers recorded loss ratio deterioration; The average expense ratio of the top 10 UK motor insurers declined by 0.7 percentage points in 2006, with Churchill, AXA, NIG and Royal & SunAlliance recording above-average reductions; The average expense ratio of the top 10 UK motor insurers declined by 0.7 percentage points in 2006; Churchill, AXA, NIG and Royal & SunAlliance recorded above-average expense ratio decline; Norwich Union, Zurich and NFU Mutual recorded the highest increases in their expense ratios; The average combined ratio of the top 10 motor insurers fell by four percentage points in 2006, with AXA and Churchill seeing significant declines; The average combined ratio of the top 10 motor insurers declined by four percentage points in 2006; AXA and Churchill recorded significant reductions in combined ratio in 2006; NIG, Direct Line and Zurich recorded combined ratio increases; The top 10 pecuniary loss insurers saw their profitability increase; Pecuniary loss combined ratios increased as expense ratios rose and loss ratios fell; The average loss ratio of the top 10 pecuniary loss insurers declined by 0.2 percentage points to 29.4% in 2006; Norwich Union and Lloyds TSB achieved strong loss ratio reductions; Direct Line and Pinnacle recorded the highest loss ratio increases; The average expense ratio of the top 10 pecuniary loss insurers increased to 65.3% in 2006, with Direct Line, Allianz and St Andrew's seeing the highest individual increases; The average expense ratio of the top 10 pecuniary loss insurers increased by 1.8 percentage points to 65.3% in 2006; GEFI, Norwich Union and UK Insurance recorded double-digit increases in their expense ratios; Direct Line, Allianz and St Andrew's achieved strong expense ratio reductions; Combined ratios increased among the leading pecuniary loss insurers in 2006; The average combined ratio among the top 10 pecuniary loss insurers rose by 1.6 percentage points in 2006; Allianz, Direct Line, St Andrew's and Lloyds TSB reduced their pecuniary loss combined ratios; GEFI, UK Insurance and Pinnacle all experienced increases in their combined ratios; Combined ratios rose for the top 10 property insurers in 2006 due to rising expenses and claims however most players remained in profitable territory; The average loss ratio of the top 10 property insurers increased by 0.1 percentage points in 2006, with Direct Line, Zurich and Norwich Union recording the biggest reductions; The average loss ratio of the top 10 property insurers increased by 0.1 percentage points; Norwich Union, Direct Line and Zurich recorded strong loss ratio reductions; St Andrew's, NIG and Royal & SunAlliance recorded high loss ratio increases; The average expense ratio of the top 10 property insurers increased in 2006, with Norwich Union and AXA recording the largest individual increases; The average expense ratio of the top 10 property insurers rose by 1.4 percentage points in 2006; Norwich Union, AXA and Lloyds TSB saw their expense ratios increase, but they achieved GWP growth; Four of the top 10 property insurers achieved expense ratio reductions; The average combined ratio of the top 10 property insurers rose in 2006, with Norwich Union, AXA and NIG seeing the largest increases; Among the top 10 UK property insurers, the average combined ratio rose by 1.5 percentage points in 2006; Norwich Union, AXA and NIG recorded high combined ratio growth; Three insurers were able to defy the property market trend and reduce their combined ratios
APPENDIX: 2005-6 definitions for lines of business; Accident & health; Medical expenses; HealthCare cash plan; Travel; Personal accident or sickness; Motor; Total private motor; Total commercial motor; Private motor comprehensive; Private motor non-comprehensive; Motorcycle; Fleets; Commercial vehicles (non-fleet); Property; Total commercial property; Household and domestic all risks.; Consequential loss (i.e. business interruption); Financial/Pecuniary loss business; Total personal financial loss business; Total commercial financial loss business; Legal expenses; Fidelity and contract guarantee; Liability business; Employers liability (including the employers liability part of mixed liability packages but excluding mixed commercial packages); Professional indemnity (including directors' and officers' liability and errors and omissions liability); Public and products liability; Mixed commercial package; Total personal; Total commercial; Pre-2005 definitions for lines of business; Accident and health; Individual accident and health; Group accident and health; General liability; Motor; Pecuniary loss; Total pecuniary loss figures; Property; Premium income measures; Earned premiums; Gross Premium; Net Premium; Written premiums; 2005 FSA Return changes; Major changes in FSA Return categories and their impact; Market size; Changes in market size information; Market size methodology; Lloyd's players and underwriting result figures; Competitor data; GWP versus GEP reporting; Total personal and total commercial business; Home-Foreign, overseas and facultative reinsurance business; Further reading; Ask the analyst; Datamonitor consulting; Disclaimer
List of Tables: Table 1: GWP of UK commercial insurers ranked 11-20, 2005-6; Table 2: Split between commercial and personal business for the top 10 commercial insurers, 2006; Table 3: Change in premium income compared to change in loss ratio for the top 10 UK accident and health insurers, 2005-06; Table 4: Change in premium income compared to change in expense ratio for the top 10 UK accident and health insurers, 2005-06; Table 5: Change in premium income compared to change in combined ratio for the top 10 UK accident and health insurers, 2005-06; Table 6: Change in premium income compared to change in loss ratio for the top 10 UK liability insurers, 2005-06; Table 7: Change in premium income compared to change in expense ratio for the top 10 UK liability insurers, 2005-06; Table 8: Change in premium income compared to change in combined ratio for the top 10 UK liability insurers, 2005-06; Table 9: Change in premium income compared to change in loss ratio, top 10 UK motor insurers, 2005-6; Table 10: Change in premium income compared to change in expense ratio, top 10 UK motor insurers, 2005-6; Table 11: Change in premium income compared to change in combined ratio, top 10 UK motor insurers, 2005-6; Table 12: Change in premium income compared to change in loss ratio for the top 10 UK pecuniary loss insurers, 2005-06; Table 13: Change in premium income compared to change in expense ratio for the top 10 UK pecuniary loss insurers, 2005-06; Table 14: Premium income compared to change in combined ratio for the top 10 UK pecuniary loss insurers, 2005-06; Table 15: Premium income compared to change in loss ratio for the top 10 UK property insurers, 2005-06; Table 16: Change in premium income compared to change in expense ratio among the top 10 property insurers, 2005-06; Table 17: Change in premium income compared to change in combined ratio for the top 10 UK property insurers, 2005-06
List of Figures: Figure 1: Groupama and Standard Life grew significantly on the back of strong performances in the group accident and health market in 2006; Figure 2: Royal & SunAlliance recorded the highest commercial GWP in 2006, although Norwich Union was larger overall; Figure 3: Only two of the top 10 UK accident and health insurers achieved better loss ratios in 2006; Figure 4: Numerous UK accident and health insurers saw their expense ratios increase in 2006; Figure 5: Six of the top 10 UK accident and health insurers recorded higher combined ratios in 2006; Figure 6: Norwich Union achieved the biggest reduction in its liability loss ratio in 2006; Figure 7: New Hampshire saw the largest increase in its expense ratio in 2006; Figure 8: Most of the top 10 UK liability insurers saw their combined ratio deteriorate in 2006; Figure 9: While the average loss ratio of the top 10 UK motor insurers fell in 2006, NIG and Direct Line saw increases in their ratios; Figure 10: Norwich Union saw the biggest increase in private motor expense ratio in 2006; Figure 11: NIG saw the biggest increase in combined ratio in 2006; Figure 12: A number of UK pecuniary loss insurers recorded significant GWP decline in 2006, although some were also able to decrease their loss ratios as a result; Figure 13: Direct Line achieved strong GWP growth and reduced its expense ratio in 2006, although fellow RBS subsidiary UK Insurance did not fare as well; Figure 14: Allianz, Direct Line and St Andrew's achieved the strongest pecuniary loss combined ratio reductions in 2006, largely through decreasing their expense ratios; Figure 15: Direct Line, Zurich and Norwich Union saw the best decreases in loss ratio in 2006; Figure 16: St Andrew's was the only insurer to successfully reduce its expense ratio and at the same time increase its property insurance GWP in 2006; Figure 17: Direct Line and Churchill saw the biggest reductions in combined ratio in 2006

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Competition in UK Commercial General Insurance 2007

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