Swiss Re has predicted generally positive growth for the global insurance industry next year as balance sheets strengthen on the back of rising profitability.

Asia is identified as a key area of focus, with Swiss Re Chief Economist Thomas Hess predicting relatively strong growth in emerging markets.

“In Asia, non-life business has indeed bottomed out earlier than in other emerging regions, and growth in 2009 (14.2%) is likely to outpace that of 2008 (7.9%),” he said.

Mr Hess says subdued investment income highlights the importance of underwriting profitably.

“This will give companies with a strong combined ratio history a competitive advantage,” he said.

According to Swiss Re forecasts, economic growth will generally be below the trend in the major economies in 2010, but will accelerate modestly in 2011.

The global reinsurer says an average global premium drop of 0.3% over the year can be attributed to the international recession, with insurers proving generally resilient to the downturn.

It says reinsurance also “remained robust” throughout the global downturn, with capital returning to similar levels as at the end of 2007.

Despite a global increase in natural catastrophe losses, the insurance industry faces “slightly improved top-line growth in 2010 compared with 2009”.