In this Insurance Institute of London (IIL) reinsurance lecture Chris Kershaw will present a view of change in markets in Asia, and what attributes those looking to engage in those markets might need to embrace to find a role and a purpose within them. This will be done by looking at a few product developments in particular lines of business and then why these markets still represent an exciting prospect for the coming decades.

Asia has long been seen as a potential source of high growth in insurance since the days of the ‘Asian Tiger Economies; of the early to mid 1990s. In this lecture we will look to offer an insight into more recent developments that have taken place, and how potential can be looked at not just in terms of the relations between economic growth, penetration rates and the protection gap, but also in terms of how local markets have responded to changes in opportunity, the growth of Asian global companies, and what opportunities and challenges this brings to the insurance and reinsurance world.

Following this the intention is to communicate why this is still an exciting and important part of the world, and what the influence of this super region might be in the future. Sharing a view of what some of the elements that might be key to successful engagement with Asia, we will look beyond the numbers to what soft factors should be considered in building an approach to Asia.