Global insurance overview This chapter provides a general overview of the trends in the global insurance industry and presents data on global insurance for the period 2000—2003, based on the Swiss Re sigma economic research. The sigma publication series provides comprehensive information on the international insurance markets and in-depth analyses of economic trends and strategic issues in insurance, reinsurance and financial services, covering life and non-life business. It is considered to be one of the most reliable and comprehensive sources of information about insurance industry. This report uses the World Insurance Series published regularly by Swiss Re sigma research with independent expert analysis. The second half of the chapter addresses an important issue within the insurance industry, namely bancassurance with statistics on the distribution of life insurance in Europe.
