U.S. property insurance rates are showing signs of softening partly due to increased capacity including growing interest from Chinese insurance companies, says an executive from Marsh. However, Chinese carriers' willingness to pay claims in the face of a major loss event has yet to be tested.

During a webinar, “Midyear 2013 Insurance Market Update,” Duncan Ellis, Marsh's U.S. property practice leader, says carriers continue to push for rate, but increased competition and capacity, as well as the lack of a major loss through the first half of this year has translated translates into rates being “flat or down in many cases.”

Carriers are still obtaining increases on select exposures, but in the single digits—“even in the traditional catastrophe-exposed regions,” Ellils adds.

On a global scale, there is growing property insurance capacity in the Middle East, Asia and China. Ellis says this growth will benefit the U.S. as Chinese insurers look for greater diversification of their capacity. He says Chinese carriers will initially seek U.S. placements with “marquee accounts” that they understand, but will need to be fronted by domestic carriers until they have established themselves. He says there is no doubt that the carriers have the economic wherewithal to pay claims. The only question is how wiling they are to do so after a significant event.

“Based on their commitment to the North America marketplace, I would find it hard to believe that they would shy away from their first opportunity to pay some significant claims and to get a more positive foothold in the minds of the insured in the United States,” says Ellis.

Discussing the casualty market, Marsh's U.S. Casualty Practice Primary Practice Leader, Tracey Caffrey-Ant, says there is plenty of capacity in the market and carriers continue to push to get rate. The market is experiencing increases ranging from flat to up 5 percent. However, the best accounts are able to reduce their rates when they go out to market. Workers compensation remains “tough” and subject to negotiation as clients search for ways to reduce losses in the face of medical cost increases and an aging workforce producing more claims.

Marsh's U.S. Excess Casualty West Zone Leader, Chui Yuen, says rates in the Excess market have not changed since the beginning of the year running flat to single digit increase. Energy, chemical and life sciences and insureds with significant losses are experiencing higher increases. U.S. and London carriers are offering more capacity, but it is too early to tell if this will create more competition and drive rates downward.

LouAnn Layton, Marsh's U.S. FINPRO Practice Leader, says directors and officers coverage is experiencing average increases as high as 6 percent depending on layer of coverage and size of account. One major cause of loss is the legal cost concerning merger and acquisition activity that appears to be on the increase. Carriers are refining language and reviewing the insured's risk profile. Increases on D&O for private and small companies are outpacing public companies, running as high as 10 percent primarily because of increases in employment practice and anti-trust claims.

Turning to cyber risk, Robert Parisi, Marsh's Network Security and Privacy Practice leader says rates remain flat and competitive and new buyers are finding the coverage reasonable when compared to the potential loss they can face. One major area of concern for insurers is computer security around a company's use of third parties. Insurers and insured are working to get favorable prices for this exposure while improving the security around this risk.

With all the political upheaval that is occurring in developing countries, for example Egypt, Brazil and Turkey, Stephen Kay, Marsh's U.S. Political Risk Practice leader. advises that companies with interests in those regions need to understand that a new era of volatility has erupted. He cautioned that traditional property and terrorism insurance would not be sufficient to cover their assets in these regions. He advises that the chief executives of these companies need to consider political violence coverage that will cover acts of war and the like which are excluded under other insurance policies.

Special Reports /

Untested Chinese Capacity Affecting Rate Environment

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