RMs Getting Squeezed, Survey Finds

By Caroline McDonald

NU Online News Service, Feb. 14, 11:20 a.m. EST? Risk managers negotiating insurance coverage are reporting that the process takes longer, they are asked to provide more information and price increases are understated, a new study has found.

The 2002 Insurance Buyers Survey, conducted by Prudential Financial in Boston, contacted 120 companies with a designated risk manager at major commercial organizations in the United States and Canada.

Alice Cornish, analyst for Prudential Financial in Boston who worked on the survey, said she was surprised by the high percentage of risk managers, 68 percent, who reported tighter terms by underwriters.

"That means their limits were reduced, their retentions were greatly increased, and in some cases aggregates were put on major programs like workers' compensation, which is very unusual."

An even greater percentage of risk managers expect that terms will be tightened when they renew, she added.

Most risk managers, Ms. Cornish explained, were prepared. "They've been talking with their brokers, they are obviously very smart people who are generally not surprised."

She recommends that risk managers compare their increases with those of risk managers in the survey, which is categorized by industry and by region.

Upper management, who risk managers report to, "sometimes have difficulty understanding what's going on," she said. The survey is helpful to "illustrate that trends are happening on a country-wide basis and in many industries."

She continued that, "It's a cyclical-driven issue that was happening even before Sept. 11." While upper management understands the issues peripherally, "most people don't understand the dynamics of the insurance business. They've been getting lower prices since the late-1980s."

Ms. Cornish said that she and Jay Gelb, associate analyst, who conducted the survey, made "about 1,000 phone calls." They elected not to contract the survey to an outside third party.

Fifty-one percent of the buyers surveyed were Fortune 1,000 companies, she said. Many of the organizations surveyed have global exposures for property and casualty risks, large budgets and support staff.

Responsibilities of survey participants include conducting and negotiating annual insurance renewals, according to Prudential Financial.

Key findings of the survey were:

? Individual programs are going through an extensive re-underwriting process. Most risk managers surveyed said that insurers are asking more questions and the renewal process is taking much longer to complete than in previous years.

? Average price change statistics are meaningless. Rate changes vary considerably by program.

? Price increases are understated. Approximately 68 percent of risk managers surveyed reported tighter terms and conditions in recent renewals; 79 percent who have not renewed expect tighter terms and conditions.

? Business is moving to new carriers but not for a lower price. A larger number of programs are changing underwriters with the most frequently cited reason being less stringent terms.

? Brokers are not suffering unduly from the effects of the hard market?broker services are still in demand.

In its 2001 survey, Prudential Financial found that 70 percent of the participants who had renewed their insurance noted an average premium increase of 18 percent.

"I'll be happy to send the survey to any risk manager to needs some support in talking to the CFO or the president," Ms. Cornish said. "We're happy to help risk managers because they've been generous with their time with us."

The survey can be obtained by calling Ms. Cornish at 617-956-1017 or Mr. Gelb at 617-956-1091.

Special Reports /

RMs Getting Squeezed, Survey Finds

Related Stories

Recommended For You