Insurance in Emerging Markets: Sound Development; Greenfield for Agricultural Insurance

This report is the latest installment in an annual series that focuses on economic and insurance trends in emerging markets. It studies insurance sector in the emerging markets in five regions of Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Turkey, and Africa. The report finds that:

• Insurance premium growth in emerging markets remains strong;
• Life business growth is heavily impacted by regulatory developments;
• Further market liberalization of non-life markets has been observed in emerging markets;
• Agricultural insurance is at a nascent stage in emerging markets;
• Commercial agricultural insurance is under-utilized;
• Government and private players can promote a more conducive market.

It concludes that the coming years will see more emerging economies being able to benefit from an expanding global market for their farm output as a result of ongoing trade liberalization and increasing focus on rural development. To take advantage of these opportunities, they will have to strengthen their agricultural sectors in terms of risk management and commercial incentives.