The Association of British Insurers said today that UK insurance companies had evolved more than their European counterparts, so would be well placed to take advantage of a single European market.
The single market has been proposed under the EU Financial Services Action Plan. This recommends moving into a single market by 2005.
Head of European affairs at the ABI Simon Gentry said: "The UK insurance industry is well placed to win in a single open market. In the UK we have a lot of experience in pensions and long-term investment business which is not such big business on the continent."
He added that British insurers were more customer-focused and made greater use of technology.
Despite these positive comments, the ABI also warned that operating in a single market could lead to the introduction of unnecessary legislation.
