The earthquake in Japan and two other major losses for insurers have put the brakes on the soft-market pricing trend in the energy insurance market, says a report from Willis Group.

Analysts say a combination of factors is conspiring to make rate increases for both commercial and personal lines inevitable, possibly by the beginning of next year.

Analysts say a combination of factors is conspiring to make rate increases for both commercial and personal lines inevitable, possibly by the beginning of next year.

The impact from the Japan earthquake and tsunami may be felt by reinsurance company stockholders if companies decide to buffer their earnings with a suspension of stock buyback programs, a report from Moody’s says.

With plenty of capital still in the pipelines, no industrywide price increase is expected from Japan’s Tohoku earthquake, and any talk about a hard market is being greeted with skepticism, according to a financial analyst.

Independent agents continue to lose personal lines market share to direct writers, and combating that means conveying to customers the unique abilities producers bring to the table, says the chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

XL Group says pretax losses from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami will be between $190 million and $290 million.

Last year was a costly one in terms of dollars and human life as insurers saw catastrophe losses increase by 59 percent from the previous year, according to a Swiss Re report.