Many life insurers are focused on enhancing the value of existing business by delivering sustainable value for consumers in order to grow long-term profitability, Swiss Re Institute's latest sigma report shows.

Online and direct channels are the fastest growing business models in both life and non-life insurance industry in Europe. The market share of the online/direct channel business was, in 2015, 8.2% of the total business, while the total gross written premiums of this channel throughout all Europe reached 99.3 billion EUR.

Over 12 months, average prices for Poland's mandatory motor third-party liability (MTPL) insurance have shot up by about 47%. S&P Global Ratings attributes part of this spike in policy prices to the rising cost of bodily injury compensation claims in Poland over recent yearsPolish motor insurers have also seen fierce competition and inflation in spare parts claims, reads a study recently published by S&P Global. Courtesy to S&P's, XPRIMM readers are exclusively offered access to the study's findings.

For the first time in recent history, Asia has surpassed Europe in terms of Gross Written Premiums, according to SWISS Re. Could this be the beginning of a new era or just a glitch?

The global commercial insurance market was worth about USD 720 billion in premiums in 2016. The 10 largest markets mirror the world's biggest economies, and account for 73% of global commercial premiums. They include the leading industrialised countries of the G7 group, China, Australia and South Korea. The latest sigma study "Commercial insurance: innovation to expand the scope of insurability" is about the innovative risk transfer solutions available to cover the ever-evolving range of exposures that companies face.

For some families living in the former industrial regions of Eastern European countries, the social welfare payments offered by the Government are the most expected moment, each and every month. They are most helpful as a survival tool but, at the same time, combined with insufficient or even sometimes inexistent state-driven programs for tackling these issues, are considered by experts as a factor against actual change in both mentalities and lives.

The future of the mandatory Second Pillar pensions is among the most disputed subjects, in the last period. After the rumors saying they'll be nationalized, the last discussions show that the participants' contribution will be reduced possibly to 1% from the current 5.1%, which will have a significant impact over the future pensions.

Customers got the "king" status in terms of quality services since many years, but the specs of the product were determined by the supplier. This is changing radically, says FRISS, citing the "on demand" insurance example.

Pricing discipline by Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and SCOR is proving an important competitive advantage in the face of declining market pricing and investment yields, Fitch Ratings says in a report published on 16 August.

Following a record-setting first quarter, catastrophe bond issuance activity surged even further. Sponsors completed 21 transactions and raised an eye-popping USD 6.5 billion. That brought first-half totals to 29 transactions and nearly USD 8.8 billion in new limit, reads the recent PCS® H1 2017 Catastrophe Bond Report.

The Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC) recently issued a comprehemsive report on the Russian reinsurance market's evolution in 2016. Please find below a summary of the main report's findings, together with the 2017 forecast, courtesy to RNRC.

Global IT spending by insurance companies will reach USD 184.8 billion by the end of 2017, with digitalization, data analytics, and legacy and ecosystem transformation dominating investments says Celent.

2017 is an anniversary year. A hundred years after a series of key events in the history of our country and in one separate segment of the Russian economy such as insurance there will be also revolutionary events, after which the insurance market, apparently, will never be the same.

Whether it's buying the best airline ticket or finding the best travel insurance, people want an easy way to understand and compare products online. But, when it comes to submitting a (flight delay compensation) claim, people will find it difficult, time-consuming and complicated. Would a legally eligible claim need to be covered under a travel insurance policy or would a traveller seek to file a complaint to the airline carrier him-/herself? Would there be a strong support for travellers, who are eligibly entitled to compensation, with customer-friendly travel insurance benefits?

Total economic losses and global insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2016 were the highest since 2012, reversing the downtrend of the previous four years, Swiss Re sigma says. Globally there were 327 disaster events in 2016, of which 191 were natural catastrophes and 136 were man-made. In total, the disasters resulted in economic losses of USD 175 billion, almost double the level in 2015. 

Initial projections by ALLIANZ Research suggest that total global premium income rose to a new record high of eur 3,650 billion last year (excluding health insurance). In a y-o-y comparison, the nominal increase - after adjustments to reflect foreign currency translation effects - comes to an estimated 4.4%.

Cyber risk is a growing concern for businesses, with recent attacks demonstrating that the costs of a cyber breach can escalate well beyond managing the fallout of lost or corrupted data. Swiss Re's latest sigma report "Cyber: getting to grips with a complex risk", says businesses need to do much more to integrate cyber security into their risk management programmes. Initiatives to boost cyber resilience are underway.

Following the 2016 earthquake sequences, ANIA - the Italian insurers' association is working to a project on household insurance for catastrophic risks. According to ANIA's President, Marina Bianca FARINA, implementing a solution for a better management of the cat risks is a must for Italia and should provide for a public-private partnership.

The motor insurance market in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been extremely competitive in recent years, with players across the board adjusting their business models to optimize costs. Less diversified insurers that have failed to build scale are struggling with profitability, reads a recent report by Standard & Poor's, "CEE Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance Profitability: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly".

"Rapidly changing risks and increasing compliance requirements mean corporate leaders are under scrutiny over alleged wrongdoing as never before. There are a growing number of areas that can result in a company and its directors being sued," states the recently issued D&O Insurance Insights - Management liability today: What executives need to know report by ALLIANZ.