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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
The commercial property/casualty insurance market in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region is expected to remain stable during 2013, according to Marsh Inc.
Despite large global losses in 2012, buyers that have good loss histories may be able to secure rate reductions, Marsh said in a report and webcast Wednesday.
In regions that were affected by natural catastrophe losses during 2012, such as Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom, property insurance rates have risen by as much as 30%, Marsh said in the report.
But overall, the market for property coverages remains stable, Marsh said.
For buyers of property insurance coverages in Europe, supplying good information to underwriters will be key to securing favorable rates, said Caroline Woolley, Marsh’s EMEA property practice leader, during the webcast.
Financial institutions, however, may experience more challenging insurance-buying conditions in 2012 as concern remains about the stability of the eurozone and increased regulatory action, said Nilay Ozden, Marsh’s Continental Europe financial and professional lines practice leader.
But while insurers are seeking rate increases on other financial and professional lines coverages, there still is abundant capacity, Ms. Ozden said during the webcast.
Demand for cyber insurance coverages is increasing, according to Stephen Wares, Marsh’s EMEA cyber risk practice leader.
The relative newness of cyber risk as a product means it is difficult to give a sense of rate movements, he noted, but there is plenty of capacity from underwriters seeking to cover such risks and competition between insurers to gain market share could be beneficial to buyers, he added.
Rating agency Fitch Ratings Ltd. maintained a stable outlook for global reinsurance sector, but warned that a single loss event of $60 billion would likely trigger a revision of the sector’s outlook, Reuters reported.