Is The Hardening MarketDoomed To Fizzle In 2002?

New York

Contrasting sharply with the bullish outlook on the part of insurance industry leaders assembled here, analysts warned that this year's hardening property-casualty market is doomed to lose steam unless another terrorist attack or natural disaster hits.

While the vast majority surveyed here at last week's Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum see a positive year ahead on pricing and profitability, one top insurer's president acknowledged the industry's historic inclination towards self-destructive pricing, which he likened to a drunk yearning for a bender.

Ninety-one percent of industry leaders responding to a survey at the forum, co-sponsored by nine p-c organizations, predicted that the hardening of the commercial p-c market will continue through 2002, while 79 percent said the same about personal lines.

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