The complexity of operating across various cultures. Historically, many multinationals concentrated their expansion in markets that had similar cultures, while others followed their business suppliers into new markets. The intense local nature of insurance. Insurance is a product dependent on trust. People want to know the company enough to trust it if they have a claim.
Brands are important at the local level.
There is no global retail organization that can distribute insurance. Jones points out that, generally, as far as domestic insurers go, restrictions apply to the pricing and design of insurance products in a regulated market. Domestic insurers compete on limited grounds, typically based on distribution, relationships and reputation. Examples of mature regulated markets are the U.S. and Japan, he says. This factor has served some domestic insurers as well.