1.1 Definition and scope of the study

An insurance broker is a merchant who acts on behalf of his clients (businesses or individuals). His role is to determine the most suitable insurance, in terms of price and coverage, for his clients' needs. It is a question of advising them but also of accompanying them via regular follow-up.

Unlike an insurance agent, an insurance broker enjoys a certain neutrality since he or she does not act on behalf of any insurance company and is not the product of any particular one.

The number of brokers is constantly increasing while insurance contributions have marked time in 2018. As a result, competition is intensifying between the various players, especially as the digitalization of the sector is forcing an evolution in practices (Trèfle Assurances, for example, offers a completely dematerialized product). It is a question of brokers positioning themselves on niche segments, which offer greater growth prospects.

The insurance sector is particularly dependent on regulatory developments. The entry into force of the DDA (Insurance Distribution Directive) and the future decrees, which should regulate the activity by imposing self-regulation on brokers, are destined to profoundly modify their activity.

1.2 A growing global market

Insurance is a business with a presence in every country in the world, generating more than $* trillion in premiums for life and non-life insurance in **** [***].

The United States has the highest contributions in both life and non-life insurance, with nearly USD *,*** billion paid out.

Life and non-life insurance contributions World, **** - ...

1.3 National market

The insurance market in France is being driven by a favourable wind, with an average annual growth in contributions of *.*% between **** and ****, which reached €***.* billion in the latter year. It is possible to estimate the amount of contributions collected in ****, in France, at ***.* billion euros [***].

Changes in insurance premiums France, **** - ...

1.4 L'impact covid

Planète CSA, le syndicat des courtiers d'assurance de France, a publié en juin **** un rapport concernant l'impact de la crise sanitaire sur les courtiers d'assurance, il est disponible ici.

Dans l'ensemble, les courtiers ont réussi à faire face aux défis de la crise avec une mise en place rapide ...

2.1 Overview of insurance in France

The business of insurance brokers is quite broad and includes a large number of insurance policies (***). Each of these segments is more or less important.

Personal insurance

The largest expenditure in France today is concentrated on life insurance and capitalisation, which generated almost €*** billion in contributions in ****.

Contributions for life, death ...

2.2 The importance of intermediaries in the value chain

Insurance brokers are not the only ones to insure individuals or legal entities in France. However, their market share varies according to the insurance offered.

The FFA does not provide precise data on the share of brokers in insurance distribution. On the other hand, the share of companies with intermediaries is ...

2.3 Les assurances de biens et responsabilité

Pour rappel, les assurances de biens et de responsabilité concernait **% des cotisations en ****. Les cotisations viennent à **% des assurances automobiles et à **% des assurances dommages et biens, ce sont les deux principales sources de cotisations pour ce type d'assurance.

Cotisations pour les assurances automobile France, **** - ****, milliards € CAGR: *,*% Source: ****

Les assurances pour automobile ...

2.4 L’importance des intermédiaires dans la chaîne de valeur

Les courtiers en assurance ne sont pas les seuls à assurer des individus ou des personnes morales en France et la part de marché des courtiers varie en fonction de l’assurance proposée. Voici les modes de distribution favorisés en fonction des principales assurances :

Les assurances vie :

Cotisations des assurances ...

3.1 A multitude of players are present in the sector

Brokers operate in a complex environment with many players, whether or not brokerage is their primary business.

Source: ****

Insurance brokers can be distinguished according to certain criteria. First, whether they are generalists, specialists or wholesalers. Generalists distribute all types of insurance to clients, while specialists specialize in one category of client ...

3.2 Insurance Broker Demographics

The number of insurance brokers continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than the total number of intermediaries as their share has increased from **% to nearly **% between **** and **** [***].

Number of insurance or reinsurance brokers France, **** - **** Source: ****

Insurance brokers generally carry out several activities (***), which allows them to diversify their ...

3.3 Les acteurs "millionnaires"

Comme énoncé précédemment, l'Argus de l'assurance publie chaque année les classements des courtiers "millionnaires" du marché français en fonction de leur chiffre d'affaires, dans le classement ce sont des volontaires qui décident de dévoiler leur chiffre d'affaires, il est donc possible que des entreprises ne ...

4.1 Brokerage for companies and individuals

Insurance brokers offer their services to companies and individuals. Their job is to find the best value for money in terms of insurance for their clients.

Unlike brokerage agents, they are not tied to any particular insurance company and must therefore offer the best deals to their clients while avoiding any ...

4.2 Insurance Brokers' Remuneration

Brokers can be remunerated in * different ways: commissions, brokerage fees and fees.

Source: ****

The APRIL Group gives a range of average commissions received by brokers when they successfully sign up a client to an insurance policy.

Source: ****

4.3 Digitalization of the offer

The role of insurance brokers is to negotiate financially attractive contracts for their clients, while providing them with sufficient coverage.

In recent years, however, comparators have appeared on the Internet. They allow policyholders to check that they are paying the "right price".

Some, such as Trèfle Assurances, are not content ...

4.4 The development of hyper-specialized brokers

Insurance brokers are facing a progressive decrease of their margins and the concentration of the sector, which makes it more and more difficult for independent brokers to do business. However, the development of insurance for niche markets allows some players to differentiate themselves and maintain comfortable margins [***].

Among these niche markets, ...

5.1 General regulation of insurance brokers

Insurance brokerage professionals can have * different levels of professional capacity [***].

The first: this level consists of having * years of experience in the insurance sector, having completed a minimum of *** hours of training in a brokerage firm or training center and having a diploma attesting to the skills required for the position. ...

5.2 Consequences of the DDA (Insurance Distribution Directive)

Due to come into force by ****, the Insurance Distribution Directive (***) could have a particularly significant impact on the insurance industry via the establishment of a self-regulatory regime for the insurance profession [***].

The associations representing insurance intermediaries take charge of certain missions such as professional training or support to ensure that they ...