Aon CEO Sees Rates Leveling
By Michael Ha
NU Online News Service, June 4, 2:15 p.m. EDT?The head of Aon Corporation is forecasting that the pace of insurance premium growth rates will gradually slow through early next year, according to a spokeswoman for the firm.
Speaking at the opening of the insurance broker's new Rotterdam, Netherlands, office, Aon chairman and chief executive Patrick Ryan said that he has "every reason" to believe that there would be a gradual reduction in the pace of premium increases, said Laura Kush, spokeswoman for the Chicago-based insurance broker.
But Mr. Ryan emphasized that this gradual leveling-off in rate increases would not apply to all sectors, Ms. Kush said, predicting that the professional liability sector, for instance, will see a steady increase in premiums for many more years.
Some of the reasons he cited for the slowing of rate increases include competition from growing Bermuda-based reinsurers, such as Endurance Specialty Holdings, which is partly owned by Aon.
Commenting on Aon's own future, Mr. Ryan also noted that the firm is forecasting a strong interest in life-health insurance in China after the SARS crisis.
Another area of interest for Aon is in the Middle East, where the firm plans to be involved in finding risk cover for contractors rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure.
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