Hartford CEO: 'Good' Market For 1-2 Years
By Michael Ha
NU Online News Service, Aug. 8, 2:55 p.m. EDT?Ramani Ayer, chief executive officer at Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., told analysts that he expects a "good" insurance market for one to two more years.
"As I look forward to the next one-to-two years in the p-c industry, I am comfortable stating that the market should be a good one," Mr. Ayer predicted.
His comments on the industry outlook came during a conference call to discuss Hartford's second-quarter financial figures.
Mr. Ayer observed that there is now "some increase in competitive activity today among the more disciplined companies in the industry." But he added, "At the same time, the favorable factors that we have highlighted in previous calls are still in place. Pricing and loss cost spreads remain positive. Reinsurance markets remain disciplined."
This week, Hartford posted a $507 million second-quarter profit, nearly tripling the $185 million in income recorded one year ago (see NU, Hot News, Aug. 7). The company attributed the improvement to investment gains and continuing rate hikes.
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