Competitive Factors of Industrial Insurers: Evidence from the German Market

The consolidation among German carriers and a wave of new foreign providers have changed the conditions in the German industrial insurance market drastically. To stay competitive nowadays, industrial insurers have to adjust to the modified conditions of competition and have to develop new strategic competitive advantages. The key issue for carriers is thereby the identification, development and fostering of determinants which influence the buying decision of insurance buyers. The buyer perception of overall competitiveness is strongly related to the actual decision to buy. This book reviews academic and professional literature on competitive factors of industrial insurers and identifies a set of 10 competitive factors that is heavily used across previous studies. The author Christian B. Schmitz examines these 10 factors through a survey sent to insurance buyers in the market, identifies the most substantial competitive factors and gives recommendations how industrial insurers can improve their competitiveness. The book is addressed to professionals of industrial insurers, to brokers and corporate risk managers as well as to academics and students.