Risk
Trucking companies, taxi operators and large private fleets are feeling the squeeze of the hard market, with shrinking capacity, increasing rates and restrictive terms and conditions. And, feedback from insurers suggests that there is little relief on the horizon.
June 30, 2002
9 min read
The U.S. property and casualty insurance industry displayed signs of a rebound in the first quarter of 2002, producing a 6.9% return on equity (ROE) following its worst ever year in 2001. Coming off a negative 2.7% ROE for last year, insurers began to turn the tide on underwriting, if not on the investment side. […]
2 min read
Despite the significant rate increases implemented through 2002 renewals, few canadian reinsurers expect this year will produce a desperately needed profit recovery. With several of the major as well as small players on the global stage having recently been downgraded by financial rating agencies, and the parent owners of some of these operations having seemingly lost their appetite for the reinsurance business, market watchers are predicting a new wave of consolidation within the sector. While this pressure has already resulted in global head-office management shakeouts, the burn point seems to be tuning toward local senior managers as the market shifts into full drive in the race for profitability. This may be a hard market, but will the existing players and their senior management survive to see it through?
12 min read
While conditions for the North American economy and the property and casualty insurance industry now appear more favorable than the experience of the past two years, carriers at both the primary and reinsurance levels still face tough times with 2002 likely to produce yet another year of disappointing financial returns, say speakers at this year's Canadian Insurance Congress. Despite the recent firming of prices across nearly all lines of business, Canadian insurers remain bedeviled by runaway claims costs which can only be curtailed through product reform.
The potential threat to the insurance industry of man-made catastrophic disasters was brought under the spotlight by the events of September 11. While considerable attention is being given to evaluate these risks at both the primary and reinsurance levels, as an industry we should not forget the hazard and need for adequate pricing of natural disaster exposures.
7 min read
Reinsurance treaty underwriters are "odd" people. We are not exactly numerous. There are only about 50 treaty underwriters in Canada with the authority to write business. That works out to about one in every 1,300 insurance industry workers, or one in every 600,000 people in the general population.
10 min read
The first quarter 2002 financial returns for both Canadian and U.S. insurers would suggest that the “soft times” are over. Indications from the reinsurance sector also suggest that the beginning of a profit recovery is underway, with the improvement at the primary and reinsurer levels being driven by significant price increases. However, despite the broad […]
3 min read
Trying to "crystal ball" the outcome of the upcoming yearend reinsurance renewal season is something I am not going to hazard a chance at. However, based on the dismal company financial returns for 2001, and the "no nonsense" approach of underwriters during the current year, it is safe to say that securing treaties for 2003 will require skillful negotiation.
4 min read
U.S. president George Bush called on Congress to act swiftly in proclaiming a single terrorism insurance bill. This call came on the heels of the Senate’s unanimous approval of the Terrorism Insurance Act (S 2600) this past month. The Republican-led House approved a terrorism insurance bill in November which was stalled by the Democrats. With […]
In it submission to the New Brunswick select committee on auto insurance, the Facility Association is asking that it be subject to the same “file and use” rate system as the rest of the industry. Although 1997 legislation in New Brunswick allows the voluntary market flexibility to increase rates through the “file and use” system, […]
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