1.1 Definition and presentation

Insurance brokers belong to the broader category of intermediaries, i.e. people who facilitate the matching of supply and demand in a given organizational context (e.g. real estate, insurance). Unlike insurance agents, who are employed by an insurance company, brokers work on behalf of the customer and have no working relationship with the insurance company.

The broker's role is therefore not to sell a particular policy, but to provide advice on a variety of solutions. Insurance brokers may work independently or for a brokerage firm, and may represent two types of customer: individuals or companies.

The market is inevitably linked to the insurance sector in Italy, which has performed poorly in recent years and is undergoing continuous transformation in order to adapt to the progressive impact of technology in all business sectors. Indeed, it is thought that insurtech will be responsible for a proliferation of distribution channels, to the detriment of traditional solutions. On the other hand, the rapid expansion of technology is giving rise to widespread concern about data protection and cyber-attacks, uncertainties on the demand side that can create considerable opportunities on the supply side.

1.2 A booming global market

According to the Swiss Re Institute's World Insurance Sigma, total premiums are expected to exceed $*,*** billion in ****-**. The United States has the highest premiums in both life and non-life insurance, with a payout of almost $*,*** billion.

Total worldwide premiums World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

The increase is more ...

1.3 Slow growth in Italy's insurance market

Italy's insurance market has experienced cyclical waves of growth and decline since the **** crisis. After a strong downward trend since ****, the market has slowly begun to grow, reaching a total value of *** billion euros in ****, before falling back to *** in ****.

Premiums received in Italy Italy, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ...

2.1 Summary of demand factors

The European insurance market is extremely diverse. Over the last few decades, the number of European insurance intermediaries has fluctuated to meet the demands of different countries' populations, making it difficult to identify a general trend.

In Italy, the number of insurance intermediaries fell slightly between **** and ****, while the size of ...

2.2 Italy's population continues to age

Since brokers account for *.*% of the non-life insurance market, the main segments being motor, health and property insurance, it is particularly important to examine trends in these sectors in detail in order to understand the demand for insurance brokers.

The number of motor vehicles in Italy is a direct factor in ...

2.3 Car traffic decreases and environmentally-friendly transport increases thanks to Covid-19

Legislative measures put in place by the Italian government to limit the spread of Covid-** have reduced the mobility of citizens, and therefore car traffic. As a result, the number of road accidents also fell between February and May **** compared with the previous year, resulting in greater profitability for insurance companies. ...

2.4 Insurance is changing the world of insurance

The term"In surTech" is used to define companies, usually start-ups, that use technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence or blockchain, to improve the efficiency of the current insurance industry model and increase savings. The term comes from the combination of the words "insurance" and "technology" and was coined at the ...

2.5 The credit broker

Credit mediation is a booming business,an intermediary activity whereby a broker brings borrowers and lenders together, without using his or her own funds to initiate the loans. The role of brokers is therefore crucial in this type of transaction, as they are able to bring borrowers and lenders together, seeking ...

2.5 Request for credit mediation services

At the end of ****, the credit mediation company ** Max has published a report containing the most important data on the credit mediation market. These include a profile of those who use credit mediation to apply for a mortgage. The most important data are summarized below:

Type of applicant Italy, ****, in Source: ...

3.1 Number of Italian insurance intermediaries down slightly

In ****, Italy had ** domestic insurance companies and * representatives of non-EEA (***) companies, which contributed **% of premium collection. The remaining **% was collected by *** EEA insurance company representatives and **** non-EEA companies providing free services. Between **** and ****, the number of domestic companies gradually decreased from *** to **, a **% drop over the decade.

Distribution of insurance companies ...

3.2 The Italian insurance market is highly concentrated

The Italian insurance market is highly concentrated. The top five insurance companies hold a significant share of the market, with non-life and life insurance accounting for **.*% and **.*% respectively. If we extend this analysis to the top ten companies, these shares rise to **.*% and **.*%. It is interesting to note that the non-life ...

3.3 The industry's return on equity is rising

In the aftermath of the **** crisis, return on equity for the entire Italian sector was negative, reaching a low of -*.*% for the life sector and -*.*% for the non-life sector. For example, over the ****-**** period, ROE in the life sector rose from a low of -*.*% to an all-time ...

3.4 Main players in the brokerage and insurance agent sector

Insurance brokers are classified under the following ateco code: **.**.**. Insurance agents refer to the following ateco code: **.**.**. These two codes represent the category of those engaged in the activities of agents and brokers (***) in the sale, negotiation or solicitation of life annuities and insurance and reinsurance policies.

To give an overview ...

4.1 Overview of insurance offers

In the insurance sector, the main distinction is between life and non-life insurance. These categories can be further divided into the following macro-zones and branches:

In particular, the following trends can be observed on the supply side:

Enrichment of the offering in the mobility sector, with traditional products being replaced by ...

4.2 Motor insurance policies lead the non-life insurance category

If we analyze the share of non-life insurance policies by macro-zone, we see that motor insurance policies account for almost half of the total value, or **.*%. This is followed by property and health policies, each accounting for around **% of the total.

Distribution of non-life insurance policies by macro-area Italy, ****, in Source: ...

4.3 Life insurance products

Among life insurance products, class I policies account for almost **% of the market, followed by class III (***) and other smaller insurance solutions.

Share of life insurance products by type Italy, ****, in Source: ****

When a customer approaches an insurance broker to take out life insurance, the broker analyzes the customer's risk profile ...

4.4 New offers to combat the Covid-19 pandemic

The insurance industry has introduced new measures to support the industry and users during the COVID-** pandemic. These measures include the suspension, extension and deferral of premiums for life, non-life and automobile policies. They also include the freezing of all actions to collect unpaid premiums and deductibles, the extension of existing ...

5.1 Italian insurance regulations

Legislative Decree ***/****, which transposed EU Directive ****/**/EEC on intermediation, established the new Private Insurance Code, replacing all previous legislation relating to the insurance sector. On October **, ****, ISVAP (***) published regulation no. * on the figure of the insurance intermediary, which defines the rules governing access to the activity, rules of conduct, areas of ...

5.2 Requirements to become an insurance broker

IVASS The Istituto per la Vigilanza sulle Assicurazioni (***) is the Italian authority responsible for supervising and issuing rules for all insurance entities in Italy. It is also responsible for defining the conditions under which brokers may be entered in the Italian register of insurance intermediaries.

For an individual, these conditions are ...

6.1 Segmentation

There are three types of brokers:

Courtiergrossiste the broker who takes care of obtaining the best products from insurance companies, tries to negotiate conditions and sells them on to another broker Courtierclassique is the broker who selects and finds the most appropriate insurance solutions for the customer, trying to obtain the ...