NEW YORK--The size of the next catastrophe to impact property-casualty reinsurers won't determine whether it's a market-turning event, said global reinsurance executives, instead suggesting that the element of surprise would be a bigger factor.
During Standard & Poor's annual insurance conference here yesterday, three executives were asked how large the next catastrophe would have to be to change pricing from hard to soft.
Wilhelm Zeller, chairman of the executive board of Hannover Re in Germany, responded, "I can't answer this question--and I doubt that there is a serious answer," referencing a broker estimate he'd seen suggesting that a $60 billion cat would turn the market.
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