Think globally

A sure sign of an industry stirring to action is when it starts carrying out reconnaissance on its peer group. Several UK insurers and reinsurers are casting around for inspiration on the next big move. Munich Re and Friends Provident haver both opted to look globally to reference the UK protection market. Mark Jones, head of protection marketing at Friends Provident, has recently returned from a fact finding trip to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. In Friends Provident's case the trip was inspired by Australian chairman Trevor Matthews' ethos of "a...