More mergers and acquisitions expected

A majority of 86 percent of North American insurance executives expect the volume of insurance mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to increase over the next three years, according to a survey conducted by Towers Watson and Co.

In addition, 78 percent of the participants said they are actively considering acquisitions. Only seven percent of the 60 executives who participated in the pulse poll earlier this year said they expect M&A activity to decrease, while the remaining 7 percent predicted no change.

According to the survey, insurers said the leading drivers to North American insurance M&A activity over the next one to three years will be strategic intention to expand into new geographies/sectors, difficulties of organic growth given the challenging economic times and general economies of scale. They cited the price expectation gap between buyers and sellers and limited availability of viable opportunities as the major impediments to M&A activity.