Insurance statistics yearbook : 1989/1996 = Annuaire des statistiques dássurance : 1989/1996.

The insurance industry is a major component of the economy. By virtue of the amount of premiums it collects, the scale of its investment and, more fundamentally, the essential social and economic role it plays by covering personal and business risks, the insurance industry is a nerve centre of all economic activity. This Yearbook gathers major official insurance statistics for all OECD countries. In particular, the reader is provided with extensive data on the number of insurance companies and employees, insurance premiums and investments by insurance companies as well as - this year for the first time - on claims, expenses and commissions. The data are broken down under numerous sub-headings and standardised as far as possible to provide internationally comparable indicators and make the characteristics of the national markets more readily comprehensible.