Magazine date:
Jan 2016 The amount of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) between different market actors (insurers, reinsurers and brokers) achieved 200 billion USD in 2015. This is the highest level ever reached for years.
The M&A activities involved both small and large companies (ACE and Chubb, XL and Catlin, Anthem and Cigna, etc.). For the largest insurers, these operations aim at not only reducing the risk cession to reinsurers but also to gain critical mass.
For smaller players, mergers are primarily intended to meet the new prudential standards imposed by the supervisory authorities.