Majority of Insurers Plan to Expand Internationally in Next 12 Months, Accenture Survey Finds

"BRIC" countries comprise the biggest expansion target
LONDON--(Business Wire)--
Despite the turmoil in the global economy, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of
insurers plan to grow outside of their home market in the next 12 months,
according to findings of a global survey released today by Accenture (NYSE:
ACN).

The survey queried more than 100 leading life insurers and property and casualty
(P&C) insurers in 16 of the world`s largest insurance markets to better
understand how they envision profitable international expansion in the current
economic and financial turmoil. Among the study`s most significant findings:

* Three-quarters (75 percent) of respondents said they believe that the current
economic and financial turmoil will offer more opportunities to grow outside of
their home market in the next three years. In addition, when asked to cite
drivers of their companies' anticipated international expansion over the next
three years, "spreading risks and balancing business cycles" was cited most
often (77 percent of respondents), followed by "managing costs more efficiently"
(74 percent).
* Increased competition is expected in emerging economies. More than eight out
of 10 insurers (84 percent) from industrialized countries and nine out of 10
insurers (92 percent) from emerging economies said that emerging markets are a
priority for them when expanding outside of their home market. When asked to
select the regions in which they expect to invest over the next three years,
respondents most often cited the "BRIC" countries of Brazil, Russia, India and
China (selected by 48 percent of respondents), followed by other Asian countries
(43 percent) and Western Europe (36 percent). Within the BRIC countries, China
was cited most frequently, followed by Brazil, India and then Russia. When asked
to identify drivers for international expansion, respondents from emerging
markets most often cited taking advantage of attractive stock prices as an
opportunity for mergers and acquisitions (cited by 64 percent of respondents in
emerging markets).
* Carriers will seek better global integration to manage operations across
several countries and/or regions. More than four in five insurers said that, to
make their international expansion more efficient, they are currently
undertaking or plan to implement changes to their back-office capabilities
(cited by 82 percent of respondents) and are implementing or will implement
changes to their information technology infrastructure and services (cited by 81
percent). In addition, while only 13 percent of respondents said they currently
use a globally integrated operating model - where strategy and operations are
managed globally in an integrated fashion - 20 percent of respondents said they
plan to use such a model within the next three years.

"Stock-market volatility, changing consumer-buying behaviors and the economic
situation are increasing competition and the challenges to achieving profitable
growth," said Serge Callet, managing director of Accenture's Insurance practice.
"Having already maximized their domestic footprints, carriers are looking to
emerging markets, where premium growth is significantly higher because of
catch-up dynamics. However, to generate profitable international expansion,
insurers will need to accelerate product innovation, drive new levels of
operational efficiency, and increase the simplification and standardization of
their internal operations across entire regions. In this context, the execution
of a sound expansion strategy will make all the difference."

Methodology

Accenture commissioned a quantitative survey of 104 international insurance
companies around the world, including 51 P&C insurers and 53 life insurers, with
more than US$1 trillion in total combined premiums. The telephone survey was
designed by Accenture and was conducted by Kadence Ltd from December 2008
through April 2009, at the time where the financial services industry was facing
one of its deepest crises ever. Respondents were C-level executives involved in
the decision-making process for investments related to the international
expansion of their companies; The 104 respondents included 28 from the United
States; eleven from Italy, nine from the United Kingdom, eight each from Spain
and South Korea; seven from France; six from Australia; five each from Brazil,
China and Japan; four from Denmark; two each from India, Germany and
Switzerland; and one each in Singapore and Finland.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing
company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across
all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world`s
most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them
become high-performance businesses and governments. With approximately 180,000
people serving clients in over 120 countries, the company generated net revenues
of US$23.39 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2008. Its home page is
www.accenture.com.

Accenture
Francois Luu, +33 1 53 23 68 55
francois.luu@accenture.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009