Life Insurance Around the World
Posted on January 23rd, 2010
Regardless of nationality, people everywhere want to protect themselves and their dependents from financial difficulties in the event of an emergency. Getting affordable life insurance is a big part of that, which is what makes it a world-wide phenomenon. Already well-established in the United States and Europe (where growth rates are mostly flat), life insurance sales are booming in so-called “emerging markets.” Countries like Brazil, Vietnam, India and China are seeing explosive growth in the number of life insurance policies being sold as their economies expand and mature.
Life Insurance in Vietnam
In Vietnam, for example, the insurance industry (including auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance and more) has grown by 29% per year on average since 2000. What’s more, of Vietnam’s 84 million people, only 6.5 million are estimated to have life insurance. Clearly, that means there’s room for even more growth – and insurance companies are taking it all very seriously. Many foreign life insurance companies, especially big players from more industrialized nations like the United States, Korea, Taiwan and Japan, are fueling the life insurance expansion in Vietnam and other Asian economies.
Insurance Growth in China
China does everything on a big scale, and life insurance is no different. In 2008, the insurance industry as a whole grew by 38%. One life insurance company alone, China Life, sold $2.9 billion in policies in the month of November. With insurance in China at 3.2% market penetration compared to 7% globally, these numbers are just beginning to scratch the surface of full market demand. As one American life insurance professional put it, “If an insurer could get even 1 percent of that [Chinese] market,” he said, “They’d have an operation as big as the biggest insurance company in the U.S. China is the richest insurance and asset management market in the world.”
India’s Insurance Expansion
Right behind China on the size-scale is India. With an estimated 1.2 billion citizens, it’s a huge economy, and the total value of life insurance premiums is expected to reach $90 billion by 2012.
Brazil Sees Biggest Insurance Gains
Brazil is also experiencing major growth in its life insurance sector. According to Streetinsider.com, Brazilian insurance revenues stand at $57 billion, with life insurance accounting for a significant portion of it. What’s more, the life insurance sector has grown by an average of 25% a year for the past five years. When it comes to life insurance expansion, Brazil is certainly giving China, Vietnam, India and other fast-developing nations a run for their money.
Life Insurance in the United States
In America, where an estimated four out of five households have life insurance growth numbers are rebounding after steep declines. The total estimate for life insurance premiums is up to $679 billion.
According to the Comit Europen des Assurances (CEA), most recent numbers for European life insurance premiums totaled 644 billion Euros ($933 billion). While substantial, those figures represent a sizable drop from previous positive-growth years.
Clearly, the economic health of the industrialized nations plays a much bigger role in short-term life insurance trends, whereas nations with room for life insurance growth continue to expand at a remarkable rate despite all the bad news. Although those growth rates are destined to cool as market saturation is reached, the immediate forecast is bright.
There is clearly a reason why so many around the world are buying into life insurance policies. With economic uncertainties still abound, it’s important to many that there family is protected in case something unfortunate should occur. The internet has made shopping for life insurance especially easy. You can use our online form to find free life insurance quotes as a part of your research before you buy.
Similar Posts:
- Aviva reports 21% rise in life and pensions sales
- Investing in Canada with Exchange Traded Funds
- Truth Versus Whole Life Insurance temporary
- Top 5 Life Insurance Scams
- Consumer Group Fields California Car Insurance Law as Model
Filed under Car Insurance News |