Category Archives: Insurance

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Soft Market Far From Over: RIMS

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According to the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s (RIMS) annual benchmark survey, commercial insurance pricing changed very little in the fourth quarter of 2010. The report, administered by Advisen Ltd, found that general liability, property and workers comp policies renewed with hardly any change in premium, on average. According to a press release issued today by RIMS:

“We have seen more carriers exercising underwriting discipline – walking away from business that does not meet their pricing targets – but it is still a very competitive market,” says Robert Cartwright, loss prevention manager for Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. and a member of the RIMS board of directors. “Premiums have stabilized a bit over the past couple of quarters, but they still are far below 2003-2004 levels. In some lines they are back to where they were during the soft market of the 1990s. It remains a buyer’s market.”

Though most premiums remain unchanged, average D&O premium did make a move. The report states that the average D&O premium fell 4.6%, though larger companies saw a slightly sharper decline while smaller companies saw only a minuscule drop.

In the February issue of Risk Management, our fearless editor in chief, Morgan O’Rourke, tackles the state of the property/casualty market in our annual P/C Market Outlook. Check here February 1st to find out more.

2011 Insurance Renewal Rate Changes by Segment

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Guy Carpenter broke down the typical insurance rate drops — or in the case of Marine & Energy and Credit, Bond & Political Risk, rate increases — companies are seeing so far in 2011.

Insurance buyers should enjoy the reduced premiums now — because the soft market won’t last forever.

Despite the declines, “2010 will prove to be the beginning to the end of a six-year soft market cycle,” MarketScout CEO Richard Kerr said in a statement. “While rates were still down for all of 2010, they did moderate and held steady at smaller reductions in a tight range,” declining 3% to 5%.

“We anticipate slight reductions on competitively marketed placements for the first six months of 2011 and flat renewals for accounts not under market pressure,” Mr. Kerr said. “By year-end 2011, the longest soft market period in the last 70 years will finally come to a close.”

What’s the saying? All things end badly. Otherwise they wouldn’t end.

Get it while the getting’s good.

Australian Insurers Brace for Worst

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Close to 348,000 square miles across 20 towns are flooded and 200,000 residents affected after heavy rains drenched Queensland and neighboring states from December 25 to January 3.

The effects of the flooding are far-reaching. Reports indicate Queensland-based insurer SunCorp has told the Australian Stock Exchange it has received 1,800 claims so far. A JP Morgan analyst has said that losses to the insurance industry due to the flooding are estimated at $1 billion. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), however, has said that it is too early to provide a loss estimate.

The worst flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France, leaving towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, cut major rail and road links to coal ports, slashed exports and forced up world coal prices.

Coal production in Queensland has been severely disrupted. “The Queensland Resources Council said lost coal and gas production would run to hundreds of million of dollars.” Economists have projected a $6 billion loss from reduced export volumes.

Key crops such as cotton, sunflower, sugar and wheat have been gravely affected by the floods and, according to the Queensland Farmers Federation, few farmers have flood insurance. Crop losses alone could exceed $1 billion.

Below is a video of the “biblical” Australian floods that have claimed the lives of 10.

Needless to say, the property damage in Queensland and neighboring states will be a hard hit to the country’s insurers.

Recap of the IICF Benefit Dinner

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Last night I was fortunate enough to attend the 4th annual Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) benefit dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria here in New York. It was a packed house with more than 800 in attendance. The speakers and the atmosphere (not to mention the food) were amazing!

The lineup for speakers included Ken Griffey, Jr., Mark Messier, Rudy Giuliani, Greg Case of Aon Corporation, Marice Greenberg of C.V Starr and David Brinkman of Aon Benfield. The sports stars were there to speak on behalf of the charitable organizations with which they are associated (The Boys & Girls Club of America for Griffey and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for Messier).

The 2010 dinner honoree was Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, who applauded the IICF and all companies within the insurance industry for donating so much time, effort and money to great causes. Guiliani kept the crowd in stitches with sports jabs at Griffey and Messier and NYC borough trash talk. But he also thanked the industry for its generosity.

“The insurance industry is an enormous part of the city,” Guiliani said. “The fact that you want to reach out and help so many people is what America is about.”

Last night’s event raised $1.1 million for charity from the more than 130 major insurance companies that support IICF. A great night for a good cause.