On 27 July 2009 the Insurance Industry Working Group (IIWG) published a report on its vision for the insurance industry in 2020. The IIWG is co-chaired by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Andrew Moss, Aviva group chief executive, and is made up of representatives from a number of UK insurers and insurance brokers. It was tasked by the Chancellor to consider ways to enhance the role of the UK insurance industry in view of the medium to long term challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
The IIWG has agreed a vision for the industry in 2020: “to be the leading global insurance centre with an unsurpassed reputation for excellence, a deep and constructive relationship with its customers and a close and effective partnership with the Government”.
The IIWG has highlighted four main themes:
- to establish a more customer focused approach
- to offer a broad choice of competitively priced risk management solutions
- to act in partnership with the Government to explore options to increase savings and protection provision and to help customers manage financial distress in their daily lives caused by accidents, ill-health or old age and
- to encourage capital flows into the UK insurance industry.
The report also highlights opportunities for UK insurers to expand into emerging markets, identifying India and China as examples of emerging markets where foreign access to the market is currently restricted, and calls on the UK Government to support the UK insurance industry’s efforts to lift barriers to entry.