Both providers and intermediaries are expecting the insurance sector to grow significantly over the next three to five years, with the life/critical illness and health products leading the way.
Research from information management specialists EDM Group showed 44% of executives within insurers expect the insurance sector to grow by between 10.1% and 20% and only 3% expect it to contract.
One in three (35%) intermediaries anticipates that the sector will grow by between 5.1% and 10% over this timeframe, with a further 19% anticipating growth of between10.1% and 15%. Only 5% expect the sector to contract between now and 2019.
When asked which segments of the insurance sector they expect to see the biggest growth over the next five years, both groups were heavily weighted towards life/critical illness, and health.
For the insurance executives interviewed, 36% anticipates that the life/critical illness market will see the biggest growth between now and 2019, followed by 21% who said health insurance and the same percentage opted for car.
For intermediaries, 47% said the health insurance sector would see the biggest growth, followed by 44% who said life/critical illness and 14% car.
Craig Campbell, Head of Insurance Sector at EDM Group, said: "insurance executives and intermediaries clearly have a very positive view on the outlook for the insurance sector over the next three to five years.
He added: "We expect to see a significant focus from insurers on improving their levels of efficiency and cutting costs, and this will include how they manage their information and data. For that reason, this is one of our biggest markets, and we expect its importance to us to increase in the coming months and years."
