P&C outlook stable but under pressure, say CEOs, experts at Joint Industry Forum 2015

Is the property and casualty insurance economic picture better from the outside looking in or the inside looking out? A panel of outside experts, followed by a panel of insurance company CEOs, considered this question recently at the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum, held Jan. 13 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

When asked by moderator Robert P. Hartwig, president and economist, Insurance Information Institute, about the 2015 financial outlook for P&C insurers, the industry experts, looking in, found the economic picture mixed, with all lines facing rate pressure. Matthew Mosher, senior vice president, Global Ratings at A.M. Best Co., said that Personal lines should be stable on rates and loss costs; however, he had a more negative outlook for Commercial lines. Reinsurance companies especially are dealing with rate pressure, new entrants into the marketplace and shrinking reserves.