1.1 Presentation and market definition

Insurance brokers are part of the largest category of intermediaries, figures that facilitate the reconciliation of supply and demand within 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 client and have no working relationship with the insurance company. Brokers analyze the risk profile of their client and evaluate among the market proposals the most advantageous insurance coverage for them, in terms of cost-benefit.

The role of the broker is therefore not only to sell a particular policy, but also to provide advice on a variety of solutions. Insurance brokers can work independently or for a brokerage firm and can represent two types of clients: private or corporate.

The rise of the Internet and innovation in the sector has contributed to the development of the industry in various ways. This is a problem for insurance brokers as it means increased competition, due to visibility becoming more difficult and the online offer more abundant.

In the UK, the market has been traditionally controlled by a small number of big firms. However, times are changing and SME's are starting to get a larger slice of the pie. In fact, market shares of big insurance brokers have been falling due to the rise of SME's in this sector. While technology provides one of the biggest threats to this industry, it can also provide opportunities if firms are able to embrace it and take it on to become more efficient and competitve.

1.2 A fast-growing global market

The global insurance market was valued at *** billion USD in ****, with an expected CAGR of *.*% until ****, to reach nearly *** billion USD [***].

Size of the global Insurance Brokerage market World, ****-*****, in billion USD Source: ****

The geographical region that is expected to experience the strongest growth in this period is Asia-Pacific, with ...

1.3 The well-established British market

Indirectly, it is estimated that the insurance brokerage industry contributed **.* billion GBP to the British economy in ****. Directly, however, the industry provided ** billion GBP to the British GDP in the same year [***].

The insurance brokerage market in the UK has reached its maturity and has not been growing at strong pace. ...

1.4 The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic

As a result of the Covid-** pandemic, the British Insurance industry is expected to have to pay more than £*.* billion in insurance claims [***].

While most insurance policies do not cover for pandemics, they cover other aspects that were impacted by the pandemic:

Medical expenses as part of a travel insurance Employers' ...

2.1 Understanding the demand drivers

The European insurance market is extremely diverse. Over the last decades, the population of European insurance intermediaries has fluctuated to meet the demand of the specific national populations, making it difficult to identify a general trend.

2.2 A growing number of SME's to stimulate the market

A very important aspect of the insurance brokerage market is the number of companies operating in a country and whether or not this number is growing. This is because businesses (***) are exposed to a wide range of risks on a daily basis that they need to be insured for.

While the ...

2.3 The interaction between clients and insurance brokers

A study conducted by PKF Littlejohn helps to understand the expectations that clients have from their insurance brokers, as well as the interactions between both of them.

The study shows that the main thing clients get from their insurance brokers is the feeling that they are getting the best value product ...

2.4 A sector that is expected to be disrupted

Although the insurance brokerage market is one that does not tend change too much over time, recent innovations and investments into technology are slowly changing the sector.

Since ****, the number of deals and the amount of money invested into insurance technology has been growing. In fact, while in **** there were ** deals ...

3.1 Insurance brokerage players

As of ****, it is estimated that there are *,*** companies operating in the insurance brokerage market in the UK. These companies are responsible for **,*** jobs [***].

There are * key players that dominate the market:

Aon Marsh & Mclennan Companies JLT Group Willis Arthur J Gallagher International

With the exception of JLT Group, which has ...

3.2 A market that is becoming less concentrated

The insurance brokerage market in the UK has traditionally been controlled primarily by a small number of big and powerful firms. However, times are changing. Smaller businesses (***) have been gaining market share at the expense of bigger players.

In fact, while in **** the market share of big insurance brokers was of ...

3.3 The growing role of insurance broking software

With the growing importance of technology in the insurance brokerage industry, we must certainly understand what are the main players that are innovating in this industry and providing insurance broking software to their clinets.

There are four main firms which can be considered the leaders in this segment in the British ...

4.1 The different types of insurance available

In the insurance sector, the main distinction is between life insurance and non-life insurance. As far as non-life insurance is concerned, the offer is very diversified, as shown in the table below summarising the different offers:

In particular, we can observe the following trends in the offer:

Enrichment, especially in the ...

4.2 The offers of insurance brokers

Insurance brokers thrive on uncertainty. The more risks an industry provides to a business, the more desired the services of an insurance broker becomes to the business in question. This is why the services of insurance brokers appeal greatly to bigger businesses - businesses that have more complex operations.

In general, ...

4.3 New offers to face the Covid-19 pandemic

The insurance industry has implemented new measures to provide support for the COVID-** pandemic. These include: the suspension, extension and deferment of premiums for life insurance policies, non-auto damages and auto coverage, the blocking of all actions to recover unpaid premiums and deductibles, the extension of existing guarantees with specific clauses, ...

5.1 Regulations

The activity of insurance brokers in the UK is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (***).

Due to the UK leaving the European Union, EU regulations no longer apply to British companies operating in this sector. This is why new rules will be soon coming into place to regulate this industry.

The ...