On May 9, 2017, the London Market Group and the Boston Consulting Group released the London Matters 2017 report. From 2013 to 2015, Singapore was the fastest-growing market among the world's major insurance centres, with premiums growing 4% per year on average to US$8 billion; Switzerland grew 0.6% to US$31 billion, lagging Bermuda's 1% growth rate and US$39 billion in premiums.

        Between 2013 and 2015, premium income in London's core market edged down 0.3%, from US$67.1 billion to US$66.7 billion; within that, the commercial direct insurance market grew by US$1 billion (1% per year on average), while the reinsurance market shrank by US$1.3 billion (an annual decline of 3%).
        Total premium income in the London market in 2015 was US$91.3 billion, of which US$24.6 billion was managed business from outside the London market. Nicolas Aubert, chairman of the London Market Group, said that although the market continues to strengthen, many of the challenges raised in the 2014 London Matters report persist and deserve attention.

        The report shows that London faces competition from emerging reinsurance centres such as Bermuda, which focus on catastrophe bonds and alternative risk reinsurance. London's share of global reinsurance premiums declined year by year, from 13.4% in 2013 to 12.3% in 2015—and that figure was 15% in 2010. London's premium income from emerging markets fell from US$10.5 billion in 2013 to US$9.3 billion in 2015. Asia, the world's fastest-growing insurance market, was also where London lost the most ground. In 2015, London's shares of the insurance markets of Latin America, Africa and Asia were 8.1%, 3.3% and 2.7% respectively—all below their 2013 levels.

         In 2015, London wrote US$80 billion of the global commercial direct insurance market's premiums, accounting for 5.8% of the global market, and its share of the global insurance market remained broadly stable. It held steady in specialty lines in developed countries such as North America and the UK; in particular, premiums for innovative businesses such as cyber insurance grew rapidly by 74% between 2013 and 2015.

        London retains its position as the world's largest commercial specialty insurance centre; the London insurance market accounts for about 0.9% of UK GDP and 26% of the City of London's GDP.

        Brexit has prompted insurers to choose to set up additional headquarters in Europe; Lloyd's plans to establish a subsidiary in Brussels.

Source: Reuters  2017-05-11