European insurance companies rising stars of online corporate communications

By Lundquist

In an opinion piece published exclusively by Insurance Day, the 2nd annual edition of Webranking by Comprend’s sector report on insurance reveals that European insurance companies improved their average score by 5.3 points since 2014, indicating that the once dormant insurance sector is beginning to wake up to the calls of stakeholders. This summer we will commence work on the 2016-2017 edition.

The insurance sector is one of the few sectors in the financial industry to improve substantially year on year, from 26% in 2013, to 30% in 2014 and 32% in 2015. Italian insurer Generali scored the highest (79.5 out of 100 points), with German reinsurer Munich Re placing second (67.7 points), and Dutch firm Aegon coming in third (61.6 points).

More insurance companies pass the test than ever before - Generali makes massive improvements

Considering 50 points out of 100 as the threshold at which companies respond adequately to market requirements, over a quarter (37%) of insurance companies pass the stress test, almost doubling the 2014 pass rate (22%). Generali wins the title of most improved with a 17.2 point gain, with other most improved companies including Finland’s Sampo and Austria’s Vienna Insurance, which both improved by over 13 points.

Sector Performance: chemicals best, insurance most improved but more disclosure of remuneration needed

Overall, the insurance sector now ranks as the second most transparent sector out of 22 sectors included in our Webranking European research, jumping from 8th place last year. Chemical companies top the ranking once more with an average of 48.5 points, led again by BASF, DSM and Bayer. Despite improving their overall score since last year, among the worst performing sectors we find the same culprits as last year. Retailers continue to perform poorly with 34.2 points, alongside banks who fall below the average with 39.2 points. Financial services providers continue to rank as the worst performing sector with 32.5 points.

Even with the insurance sector surging up the rankings, the public criticism following scandals linked to excessive pay of top executives during the financial crisis still lingers. Despite this, less than a quarter of insurance firms show that they are addressing this critical issue by publishing their remuneration policy. Of the 35 insurers analysed, only two insurers published the full remuneration of their executives, with 4 doing so for their board of directors, even though this information is required by law. Danish insurance company Tryg was the only company analysed that published full payment details across the board, as well as a remuneration policy.

Webranking by Comprend 2015-2016 - Insurance (PDF)

For further information regarding the research and to order a full company report, please contact helena.wennergren@comprend.com or caroline.becker@lundquist.it.