As we climb out of the settling dust from the 2005 hurricaneseason and look forward, what can we expect from the Surplus Linesmarket in 2006? It may still be too early to accurately say wherewe are headed at this point. Multiple factors are impacting theavailability of property coverage for the immediate future, andperhaps for years to come. These factors include: significantinternational losses as well as the those experienced in ourSoutheastern United States in the past few years; the availabilityand cost of reinsurance due to these large losses; modeling thatsaw losses many times more than anticipated; continuing claimpayment activity with demand surge costs; downgrading/loss ofavailable carriers; and new players on the horizon. It's importantto review all of these factors to get the total picture.

Worldwide Impact

The ravages of Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and Rita have leftFlorida and the other Gulf States reeling, but 2005 wasn't good tothe rest of the world either. In January of 2005 Windstorm Erwinblew through the United Kingdom and traveled across northern Europeand into Russia causing damage in the billions. There also werefloods in Europe as well as a massive earthquake along the borderbetween Pakistan and India.