2011-10-21

By staff reporter

The normal insurance market cycle has changed according to brokers JLT and XL, creating polarisation through individual exposures with some pockets of hardening.

An Airmic event chaired by Patrick Smith, director of risk at Hertz, highlighted that hard and soft market cycles are a thing of the past, particularly as large corporates can now structure their insurance programmes to manage and balance pricing fluctuations.

David O'Ryan, head of casualty, global risk solutions, JLT discussed how premiums are "increasing in specific market segments and in certain geographical areas where natural catastrophe exposures are high but that the insurance market has proved its resilience and overall pricing remained competitive".

Nigel Bamber, head of client relationships for the UK said: “Given the considerable catastrophe losses over recent months, the current soft market is unsustainable for both insurers and reinsurers. Given these poor overall results, pricing should increase in 2012, despite the abundance of capital. The question is how severe the correction might be.”

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Standing firm
With increasingly tough operating conditions throughout the insurance industry, paying lip service to underwriting discipline is no longer an option. Helen Yates reports on the year ahead in underwriting

Emerging markets insurance promising yet challenging, says Swiss Re
Insurance in emerging markets has experienced strong growth over the past decade and the outlook for the next decade remains promising. Nonetheless, achieving profitable growth will become increasingly challenging in emerging markets.

Complex global risks and boardroom biggest challenges to risk managers
Despite the global economic crisis, the commercial insurance market is poised to remain stable through 2010, but new challenges are emerging for risk managers, according to a comprehensive report issued by broker and risk adviser Marsh.