As insurers transform, aligning M&A with corporate strategy can optimize deal value.
With disruption transforming the insurance industry, deal activity is expected to rise. In a recent global survey of more than 200 insurance organizations, 84 percent think they will undertake one to three acquisitions over the coming year.
The single biggest driver of insurance deals is business transformation: 33 percent of insurers say they intend to undertake M&A to redefine their business and operating model, and 40 percent plan to enter partnerships and alliances.
Strategy-aligned M&A brings more clarity over future markets, geographies, products and channels. This is turn helps to identify the processes, technology infrastructure, talent and culture to support growth.
To gain more value from acquisitions, insurers need to improve their data and analytics-enabled deal-evaluation capabilities, especially for due diligence, integration and separation.
Insurance decision-makers recognize the importance of a strategic mindset: 39 percent of firms say aligning deal evaluation process to strategic objectives is key to M&A success. But many also admit that they have not achieved this alignment, with deals often being reactive.
An enterprise-wide insurance M&A ‘playbook’ can improve insurers’ deal value by evaluating the strategic fit of any targets. Such a playbook should cover due diligence, deal evaluation and post-deal integration/separation.
Partnerships and alliances can also transform the business model: 87 percent of organizations expect to partner to access new operating capabilities, and 76 percent to open up new technology infrastructure.
Asia-Pacific expects to see the most partnerships and alliances in insurance, with China and India the top two destinations. And most respondents say they intend to partner with larger firms of US$250 million to US$1 billion.
Another trend is in-house corporate venture capital (CVC) investment capabilities, to invest in innovative, and mostly non-insurance, technologies.
Insurers cannot halt disruption; but they can take a more effective route to transformation, by considering how to get more out of their deals: