Brussels, 27/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - With real growth rates at 2.6%, the insurance sector recorded the lowest growth rate in 2001 since 1993, notes the European Insurance Committee (EIC), in a very complete report on the market situation presented in Brussels this week. France was the most affected by the slow down following a fall in people taking up life insurance. On the contrary, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and, to the east, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovenia did better than the rest of Europe, with growth rates of 5%. The life insurance market, which represents two-thirds of the insurance market, stabilised in 2001. Investments, on the other hand, made by insurers increased steeply.
The United Kingdom continues to dominate the life insurance market (39% of the market in Europe in the wider sense), followed by France (15%) and Germany (11.2%). Germany, on the other hand, reigns on the non-life insurance sector (car, etc.), with 25.7% of the market, followed by the United Kingdom (18%) and France (14.2%). The European insurance market is fragmented between over 5000 companies, notes EIC Secretary General Daniel Schante. Small and medium-sized companies represent 60% of insurers, the remainder being market leaders, like Barclays Life in the United Kingdom, CNP in France for life insurance, and Groupama (Fr.), Allianz (D) and CGNU (UK) for non-life insurance.