Insurance Information Institute President Robert Hartwig discussing the decline in industry surplus in 2011 to $550.3 billion from $556.9 billion in surplus at the end of 2010. Hartwig made the comments after the release of a I.I.I., ISO, and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America analysis of the industry’s 2011 results: 

“One outstanding question is whether the decline in surplus last year was a transient occurrence, cause chiefly by surging catastrophe losses, or whether it is the beginning of a sequence of declines whereby excess capital is expunged from [P&C] insurer balance sheets as core underwriting losses mount and the ability to release proper-year reserves into the earnings stream diminishes,” Hartwig comments in a separate paper on industry results. 

“The former seems to be the more likely case.”

J. Hyatt Brown, chairman, acting president and chief executive officer of Brown & Brown, commenting on the state of the market during a conference call on the brokerage’s first-quarter earnings:

“[F]or the first time there is consistent and constant pressure in many areas of the U.S. to increase property rates and, consistently, workers compensation is going up."

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Mike Consedine commenting on his approval of a planned merger between Nationwide and Harleysville. The deal still needs approval from Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey as well as a majority of Harleysville Mutual members:

“Harleysville and Nationwide have complementary product lines, and together the companies offer more choices to policyholders. I also applaud Nationwide’s decision and commitment to preserve the Harleysville culture and to keep jobs here in Pennsylvania.”

Risk and Insurance Management Society President Deborah Luthi discussing the the expanding role of the risk manager at RIMS’ 50th annual meeting held this week in Philadelphia:

“Risk management is no longer a job, it is a profession; it is a career. Somewhere along the way risk management became cool.”