The marine insurance market remains competitive due to ample capacity and marine underwriters' efforts to get closer to local markets. Leon Palmer, Farmington, Connecticut-based director of risk management at United Technologies Corp., whose marine insurer is Allianz S.E., described the market as robust.

“There are good competitive alternatives in terms of insurance capacity,” he said, as well as a “complement of loss control and loss prevention expertise available to buyers like United Technologies,” a commercial aerospace, defense and building industry supplier.

Marcus Baker, London-based chairman of Marsh Ltd.'s marine practice, said the market is soft and “likely to soften further in the future.”

“Some of this is due to capacity and the fact that there is a lot of capacity around at the moment,” Mr. Baker said. “We are seeing a number of underwriters looking to get closer to the clients” by setting up underwriting operations in new territories such as in the Middle East, where a number of Lloyd's syndicates have recently opened offices.

John Barnwell, New York-based chief underwriting officer of marine at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, a unit of Allianz S.E., said rates have remained stable, although they are under pressure because of capacity.

“There's abundant capacity in the market as a class of business. It's been historically profitable, although that's come under pressure in recent years,” Mr. Barnwell said. While he could not provide a specific figure, he said, “Independent of price and terms, there is enough capacity to cover most if not all marine risks in the market today.”

“We're still able to achieve overall increases” in rates, “but it's at a diminishing rate” and the future could bring rate decreases depending on natural catastrophes and casualties involving vessels, Mr. Barnwell said.

“The overall industry's need for pricing improvement continues to be there relative to inflation and losses this year, possibly more than they did last year,” said Bill Queen, Hartford, Connecticut-based president of Travelers Cos. Inc.'s ocean marine unit.

“I see a chaotic scramble for market share,” said Richard J. Haverlin Jr., managing director at New York-based brokerage Hugh Wood Inc. There is “a greater willingness or aggressiveness for the London market and maybe some European markets to package and/or develop composite programs” to offer one-stop shopping for buyers.

“At the same time, the domestic markets are being forced to drop premium levels and even deductible levels,” Mr. Haverlin said, because of competition from the London market.

Drew Feldman, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based worldwide ocean marine manager at Chubb Corp., who focuses on cargo, said rates range from stable to down, “obviously with accounts that had significant increases in exposure or loss activity” seeing increases.

“It's not a one-size-fits-all environment,” Mr. Feldman said.

Sean Dalton, New York-based executive vice president and head of marine for global corporate at Zurich North America, said there has been a trend toward higher retentions.

“Reinsurers don't attach as low down as they did five or 10 years ago,” which “drives greater accountability long term in the marketplace” among insurers, Mr. Dalton said.

Messrs. Barnwell and Dalton said no significant new players have entered the marine market.

“There may be people who have one or two person-type operations, but certainly nothing with any considerable scale to it,” Mr. Dalton said.

Additional capacity has come mainly from insurers looking to diversify their books of business, Mr. Barnwell said.

While experts said turmoil in the Middle East has had little effect on the market, sanctions against Russia could.

“Our view is a cautious one, and we've done that with Iran and we'll take that same view with Russia,” Marsh's Mr. Baker said.

“I think that the insurance market will take a measured response.”

“You've got to be strict on compliance” with sanctions because of the “enormous downside” of not complying, Mr. Dalton said.

Insurers must be sure “they're not insuring anything prohibited under U.S. law or is not allowed by (the Office of Foreign Assets Control),” he said.

Mr. Barnwell said buyers want insurers to help them spot potential sanction violations to make sure shipments are legal before they are sent.