The general manager of the MAPFRE Studies Service attends The Economist international insurance conference in London
There are significant differences between the societies of the world in terms of the penetration of insurance. Developed countries, where regulation, innovative products and distribution channels have progressed more rapidly, represent over 80 percent of the world’s premiums. In emerging markets, however, insurance solutions are still relatively rare and continue to pose a challenge for the insurance industry.
This represents an obstacle – and indeed a threat – to economic development and the welfare of these societies, since insurance provides financial compensation for unforeseen events and therefore contributes to the financial stability of individuals, families and organizations.
Consequently, it is important from both a public and private perspective to continue developing policies that may increase the insurance penetration ratio in emerging countries. These are some of the thoughts shared by the general manager of the MAPFRE Studies Service, Manuel Aguilera, during his presentation in London at The Economist Insurance Summit, an international conference on the insurance industry organized by the British publication.
Titled “Guardians of the Future” and attended by some of the world’s leading insurance companies, the conference examined the current state of the insurance industry, the challenges ahead, and the imbalances between the varying degrees of insurance penetration in different parts of the planet.
In Aguilera’s opinion, we need to understand that most of the future growth in the global insurance industry will take place in emerging markets, and it is therefore necessary to think hard about “the public and private policies that could stimulate the growth of the market and, in a broader sense, help develop an insurance culture among the populations of these countries”.
Manuel Aguilera was appointed general manager of the MAPFRE Studies Service last October, having previously chaired Mexico’s National Insurance and Sureties Committee, and was President of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Insurance and Private Pensions Committee. The recently created Studies Service aims to become a benchmark in public debates on insurance and social protection, macroeconomics and finance, and regulation.