New York==The insurance industry's resources will be strained by the recent onslaught of significant natural catastrophic losses, but it will successfully rebound and be reinvigorated by these events, the chief executive of Aon Corporation suggested.
Speaking before members of the New York Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc., here today, Gregory C. Case, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based insurance broker, stressed there is much concern among insurers about the catastrophes, and Rita is compounding the problem.
Last week, while visiting insurers in Monte Carlo during the Rendez-Vous de Septembre, he said there was a lot of talk about the effects of Katrina.
"It was a tough place to be," he said of listening to reinsurers. "They knew the magnitude, but they really didn't know the magnitude [cost of the storm]."
"There is a lot of concern and trauma," he observed among the insurers. "Rita complicates things. They kept saying, 'We'll be fine, as long as we don't have another.'"
From a capacity standpoint, the industry will take some hits, "and we will do some things terrifically," he said, but "the industry will react. Capital will flow in; it flows in a lot easier than it exits."
He said the current situation underscores the need for a broker who will be a trusted advisor to clients.
For Aon, he said, "This is a fundamental time when we must step up and serve our clients well." Mr. Case added, "We will be stretched, but that is our issue. From a claims standpoint, we will be stretched, but that's what we have to deal with."
He said, "This is a place where we must step up and we must absolutely shine for our clients."
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