WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va.–Insurance brokers at an industry meeting here predicted an extended soft market cycle and the head of one leading firm said he sees it accompanied by a variety of problems.

Michael G. Cherkasky, Marsh & McLennan's chief executive officer and president, said as the downward price pressure focuses the business on cost there is a question whether insurers have the specialists needed to settle and pay claims in the future.

Speaking at the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers 94th annual Insurance Leadership Forum held here earlier this week, Mr. Cherkasky warned: “This is an industry that for hundreds and hundreds of years has relied on knowledge and judgment. And in the clamor for efficiency, we cannot lose those characteristics: knowledge and judgment.”

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