Читать книгу Global Experience Industries - Jens Christensen - Страница 45

Globally, the insurance business is huge.⁸⁵ Life, accidents, property, fire, health, etc. are all heavy insurance areas in which the insurance industry concentrates its activities. Worldwide consolidation has been on the march since the 1990s, driven by the diversification of major financial companies into adjacent industries. On the one hand, banks diversify into insurance through acquisitions and expansion. On the other hand, the traditional insurance companies strengthen their competitive positions by diversifying into banking. Among the independent insurance companies some continue to specialize in travel insurance, which remains a rather marginal field compared to the core areas of insurance.

Yet, consolidation has not broken completely through. It is growing, however, at national, regional and global levels. The large insurance companies that fuel consolidation are domiciled in the world’s three economic centers, the US (for example America International Group), Western Europe (for example Allianz and Zürich) and Japan (for example Nippon Life Insurance Company). While heavy insurance areas are still dominated by national companies, travel insurance is more of an international business moving towards regional and global consolidation.

In the US, World Access is one of the leading travel insurance companies, through its Access America division.⁸⁶ World Access with $1.5 billion revenues in 2007 is part of Mondial Assistance Group, which is the result of a merger between a French and a Swiss insurance company.⁸⁷ One of the leading international insurance companies, German Allianz, which is also a large shareholder in Mondial, has revenues in 2007 of almost $100 billion.⁸⁸ Independent travel insurance companies in the US and in Europe still hold significant market shares however, the largest company being Austrian ‘Europäische Reiseversicherung’ with revenues of $2 billion in 2007.⁸⁹ Second largest is Dutch Goudse Verzekering with revenues in 2007 at $1 billion. Europäische and Goudse originated in the early 20th century and expanded after the Second World War in Europe and since the 1990s worldwide. Western Europe remains its core market, however.

Even though insurance companies have established direct sales channels to consumers through the Internet, third parties, often being travel agencies, dominate insurance implementation. Insurance companies partner with several companies within travel, health care, etc.