New York–Pricing actuaries face a number of tough challenges beyond sparring with underwriters over how much they can drop insurance rates when property-casualty markets turn soft, a veteran of the process said.

William Miller, senior vice president and actuary for ACE USA in Philadelphia, told colleagues attending a meeting of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater New York here last week that issues like eroding claims-handling standards and requests to set prices for newly launched coverages are among the many concerns that can cause headaches for actuaries as the market softens.

Often during a soft market some of the controls and processes around the claims function get eroded, Mr. Miller said. Insurers, he noted, may be more apt to allow the insured to self-administer their own claims or to have a say in the third-party administration selection–a situation less likely during a hard market.

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