How some reinsurers stand apart

Flaspöhler, part of NMG Consulting, conducts an annual, global study designed to illustrate reinsurers’ competitive positioning and value proposition in relation to their peers. Here, we reveal how the top reinsurers fared when brokers and insurance executives across Asia-Pacific were surveyed.

Flaspöhler (part of NMG Consulting, a specialist global consulting firm, focusing solely on the investments, insurance and reinsurance markets) conducted this global study drawing on the views of nearly 3,500 executives from more than 1,200 companies.

Flaspöhler | NMG Consulting produces a Business Capability Index (BCI) as a lead metric, designed to provide insight into a reinsurer’s (or broker’s) competitive positioning within any given segment. The BCI is a composite of many factors, including strength of partnerships, ease of doing business, innovation, client management, underwriting expertise, and capabilities within lines of business.

As such, BCI gives a sense of a competitor’s overall offer and value proposition in relation to its peers, and is particularly insightful when contrasted against relative pricing or financial strength. Price competitiveness and financial strength are not included in the BCI, which ensures it is strictly a value measure.

The results may be eye-opening to many. A glance at the BCI chart shows a strong correlation between value positioning and market penetration—perhaps a sign that customers prefer to work with capability-laden reinsurers.

Flaspöhler | NMG Consulting stresses that a BCI is a snapshot at a moment in time, although it can also be used to track changes over time. Those competitors with high BCI ratings can—under ‘normal’ conditions—reasonably be expected to trade favourably, whereas those less well-rated by customers would typically need to rely on price differentials and/or superior financial strength to hold ground competitively.

The data supplied in these pages is a high-level summary of the underlying data including the 11 metrics that underpin the BCI. For the full detail of how reinsurers fared in each of these criteria, see the October issue of Intelligent Insurer.

How Asia-Pacific brokers rate reinsurers

For this part of the study, Flaspöhler | NMG Consulting interviewed reinsurance brokers across Asia-Pacific and used this feedback from brokers to calculate a Business Capability Index (BCI) score for each reinsurer.

The survey revealed that reinsurance brokers in Asia-Pacific see Swiss Re as superior to other reinsurers in the region.

While XL Catlin and Munich Re also receive strong value (BCI) scores and high usage rates among brokers, Hannover Re, Lloyd’s and SCOR are positioned to continue to do well with subtle improvements in value, and Hiscox Re and TMR are in a position to increase market penetration based on their high BCI ratings.

How Asia-Pacific insurance execs rate reinsurers

For this part of the study, Flaspöhler | NMG Consulting interviewed more than 703 insurance executives across Asia-Pacific  and used this feedback to calculate a BCI score for each reinsurer specifically in relation to treaty business.

The survey revealed that insurance executives in Asia-Pacific view Swiss Re as significantly superior to other reinsurers in value (BCI), which has earned the company the greatest penetration in the region.

Munich Re and Hannover Re are also strong in the region, with several reinsurers positioned to earn increases in market penetration, including SCOR, XL Catlin, GIC Re, TransRe, Mapfre Re and PartnerRe.

A version of this article has previously appeared in Intelligent Insurer.

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