Published : Sep-2018
No. of Pages : 40
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
1.1. Market summary 2
1.2. Key findings 2
1.3. Critical success factors 2
2. MARKET DYNAMICS 7
2.1. Introduction 7
2.2. The number of businesses in the UK increased by 3% in 2017, helping drive demand 7
2.2.1. Micro businesses saw the biggest growth in 2017 9
2.2.2. London acted as the main catalyst for growth over the review period 9
2.2.3. Specialist insurers may face challenges as growth rates vary considerably across industries 10
2.3. The employers' liability market returned to growth in 2017 following a large contraction in 2016 15
2.3.1. Ogden rate upheaval has had an impact on premiums 16
2.4. Employers' liability made its first underwriting profit since 2005 16
2.5. Claims numbers continue to fall following a pre-LASPO surge 18
2.5.1. Workplace injuries continue to fall as safety standards increase 21
2.6. Reforms in the personal injury market will impact employers' liability claims 24
2.6.1. Proposed changes to the Ogden rate will drive claims cost in the employers' liability market 24
2.6.2. Insurers need to be alert to CMC activity as the Civil Liability Bill will shift CMCs' focus 25
2.6.3. Changes to the small claims track limit will have a negligible impact on employers' liability 25
3. COMPETITOR DYNAMICS 27
3.1. The total liability market experienced a slight increase in competition in 2017 27
3.1.1. AIG Europe aims to provide a more comprehensive employers' liability product 29
3.1.2. Zurich holds firm as the second-largest provider in the total liability market 29
3.1.3. Aviva moves from fifth to third as QBE loses out 29
3.1.4. Towergate Underwriting increases activity in the employers' liability market 30
4. FUTURE MARKET 31
4.1. The employers' liability market is forecast to continue growing despite Brexit-related uncertainty 31
4.2. A number of factors will influence the growth of the market 32
4.2.1. Brexit poses the biggest threat to employers' liability 32
4.2.2. Consumer purchasing behavior is driving change in business models and shaping the employers' liability market 34
4.2.3. The expanding gig economy could help grow the employers' liability market 34
4.2.4. Personal injury claims could become a concern for the profitability of the market 35
4.2.5. The industry must adapt to new working practices brought about by technology 35
4.2.6. Mental health could be a potential new area for claims 36
5. APPENDIX 37
5.1. Abbreviations and acronyms 37
5.3. Forecasting methodology 38
5.4. Bibliography 38
5.5. Further reading 39
List of Tables
Table 1: The number of private sector businesses and employment in the UK, 2013-17 8
Table 2: The number of UK private sector businesses by number of employees, 2013-17 9
Table 3: The number of employees and businesses by industry, 2017 11
Table 4: Growth rate of businesses and employees by industry, 2016-17 14
Table 5: UK employers' liability and total liability market GWP, 2013-17 16
Table 6: Employers' liability underwriting result and ratios, 2013-17 18
Table 7: Total number of personal injury claims in the employers' liability market, 2010-18 19
Table 8: Total number of fatalities and injuries in the workplace, 2012-17 22
Table 9: Total number of injuries spilt by severity, 2012-17 24
Table 10: Top 10 providers by market share in the total liability market, 2016-17 27
Table 11: Measures of competition in the total liability market, 2016-17 29
Table 12: Employers' liability market GWP forecasts, 2018f-22f 31
List of Figures
Figure 1: The key drivers of the employers' liability market continue to increase 8
Figure 2: Growth in the number of private businesses is focused in London 10
Figure 3: Across most industries the growth in the number of businesses outpaced employee's 12
Figure 4: Figure 3 key 13
Figure 5: The employers' liability market experienced slight growth in 2017 15
Figure 6: The employers' liability market moved into profitability in 2017 17
Figure 7: The number of recorded claims continued to fall 20
Figure 8: The average cost of claims continues to fall 21
Figure 9: The number of non-fatal workplace injuries is falling year on year 22
Figure 10: All types of injuries have continued to decline year on year 23
Figure 11: There were no new entrants to the top 10 total liability providers in 2017 28
Figure 12: The employers' liability market is set to face a turbulent few years 32
Figure 13: Forecasting methodology 38
