International insurance and reinsurance chief executives are upbeat about the prospects for their companies in the economic downturn.

The Geneva Association polled 40 CEOs on strategic industry issues at its 36th General Assembly late last month in Kyoto, Japan. Among the organisations represented were Allianz, Aviva, Axa, Lloyd’s, Munich Re, Prudential, Swiss Re and Australia’s IAG.

Three out of four expect the economic downturn to have only a mildly or somewhat negative impact on their companies’ bottom line – although “macro-economic volatility” ranks highest among the insurance industry’s perceived risks.

But 45% of the CEOs say the financial crisis will have a strong or even major impact on their customers’ buying behaviour. Among the specific factors cited are an erosion of customer confidence, increasing demands on product transparency, the financial solidity of insurance providers and heightened risk sensitivity.

Two-thirds are dissatisfied with overall developments in financial reporting, and there is specific criticism of the ongoing accounting mismatch between assets (mark-to-market) and liabilities (nominal value accounting) under International Financial Reporting Standards.

Overall developments in solvency regulation upset 54% of the respondents.