23 October 2016Insurance

Soft rates and the challenge of growth are biggest concerns

Ahead of the annual PCI conference in Dallas, Texas, PCI Today, in association with Qatar Re, quizzed delegates about their concerns, aspirations for the conference and what they think the biggest talking points will be.

The continued soft market and the challenge of growth will be the biggest concerns of delegates at this year’s Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) conference in Dallas, Texas, this week. But many delegates are also focused on continuing and expanding client relationships.

They are some of the findings of a pre-conference online survey by PCI Today, conducted in association with Qatar Re.

Some 49 percent of respondents said they attend the event to continue and expand existing business with established clients, while 24 percent said they look to establish new client relationships and access new business opportunities. Negotiations seem to play a smaller role at PCI, in contrast to similar European conferences at this time of year.

“The biggest challenge facing delegates was clearly the soft market: low rates and soft terms and conditions.”

When asked what will be the main talking points at PCI, almost 50 percent named the challenge of growth as a top concern, while 23 percent named excess capacity and current low rates. But 14 percent said providing coverage for emerging risks would be a talking point with one respondent naming IT, cyber, operational cyber exposure globally.

“New risks and growth are linked,” said one. “If the industry can work out how to price and cover things such as cyber, there is huge demand and thus business opportunity for us all.”

The biggest challenge facing delegates was clearly the soft market: low rates and soft terms and conditions, with 46 percent of people naming this; maintaining profitability in light of low investment returns was the next biggest concern, with 36 percent of people naming it.

“Soft market conditions come and go but the investment return problem (with even negative investment returns for certain government bonds) seems to be a lasting one,” one respondent said.

Respondents seemed fairly split on growth, although speciality lines came out as representing the greatest opportunity.

In tomorrow’s newsletter, Luke Roden, head of ceded re & global head of catastrophe, Qatar Re, will offer his responses to the same questions.

Why do you attend the PCI insurance conference?


Response

%

To continue and expand existing business with established clients

49%

To establish new client relationships and access new business opportunities

24%

To learn about new trends in the market

16%

To negotiate with clients in relation to the year-end renewals

11%

What is your biggest challenge/concern at the moment?


Response

%

Soft market conditions: low rates and soft terms & conditions

46%

Maintaining profitability in light of low investment returns

31%

Maintaining terms and condition in liability business

14%

Continued inflow of alternative capital

9%

Which lines of business do you see the fastest growth in?


Response

%

Specialty lines

37%

Health

16%

Property and patcat

14%

Casualty

12%

Life

12%

Motor

9%

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Insurance
23 October 2016   Ongoing efforts by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to devise an international set of capital standards will require a delicate balancing act between the re/insurance industry and local regulatory bodies and jurisdictions, Brad Kading, president of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), told PCI Today.
Insurance
23 October 2016   Measured growth plans are on the agenda for International General Insurance (IGI) as it targets growth in the energy sector despite very challenging wider market conditions, Waleed Jabsheh, president of IGI, told PCI Today.