The New Masters of Risk? How insurers are testing out their capabilities in finance
Profiles
AIG remains the undisputed leader
MAI insurance group was formed by Christopher Gore in 1990. The initial capital was only €4,000, at today’s value, the minimum required under Hungarian law, and was used to form MAI Hungary.
It now operates in more than 20 countries in the central and eastern European region and handles more than €250 million in insurance and reinsurance premiums a year. Profitable offices fund start-ups in other countries, so there is no need for external finance. The company was founded because businesses with an international network needed a broker to find them sophisticated insurance that complied with international law and addressed the particular requirements of doing business in CEE.
According to Jeffrey Manners, chief executive of MAI – which was voted the number one insurance broker in Eastern Europe in Euromoney’s survey – there are many opportunities for growth. "Insurance intermediation (broking) is growing faster than the insurance industry itself, which is growing faster than the general economy, which is in a region whose economies are among the fastest-growing in the world," he says.