Employment for property and casualty insurers fell in February compared to January, continuing a trend that began in 2008 during which P&C insurers have shed nearly 11,000 jobs, Insurance Information Institute President Robert Hartwig says.

Reinsurance rates at the April 1 renewals continued to rise due to 2011 loss events, according to a Guy Carpenter briefing released April 5.

Rates are rising, multiple studies agreeeven global-property rates in non-catastrophe-exposed areas. But at least one firm, ALIRT Insurance Research, maintains the industry has not yet reached its tipping point for a hard-market turn.

With rates rising in many commercial-insurance linesalthough not uniformly across all linesrisk managers may have to deliver unpleasant news at budget time, but they should stress the value of the products, rather than just the cost, Willis chief executive says.

While the general consensus for global property-insurance rates has been that rates in catastrophe-exposed areas are rising while rates in areas without such exposures are remaining flat, pricing during the 2012 first quarter is showing property rates climbing across the board, according to Marsh.

After suffering through a year of elevated property losses and poor underwriting results in 2011, U.S. commercial-lines insurers are positioned to deliver improved operating results this yearbut carriers will still struggle to reach previous profit marks, one analyst says.

Reinsurance rates at the April 1 renewals continued to rise due to 2011 loss events, according to a Guy Carpenter briefing released today.

The 2011 floods in Thailand were the most expensive flooding on Swiss Re sigma records, but a study of exposures in emerging markets around the world shows that other countries may represent even greater flood risks.