With more than half the year now gone, industry evaluations have been surfacing, and underwriting is a focal point. For example, according to a Swiss Re sigma study released in June, worldwide premiums for life and nonlife insurance grew by an inflation-adjusted two percent to $2.941 billion in 2003. The study shows premiums and results in nonlife business increased markedly last year. Life insurers reported improved profitability despite a slight decline in premium income. Rate increases together with more stringent underwriting standards and comparatively few extreme losses resulted in a marked improvement in nonlife underwriting results in 2003, a Swiss Re statement said.

On the property/casualty side, during Swiss Res 2004 Midyear Economic and Insurance Industry Review conference call (as reported in the National Underwriter Online News Service), senior economist Thomas Holzheu predicted several forces in the marketplace will drive insurers to maintain their underwriting discipline for the foreseeable future, despite the current moderating price environment. Property rates have been moderating but remain profitable, he said. Casualty rates are still strong and continuing to climb in certain lines.

The industry overall will be seeing profits from underwriting in the future, Holzheu forecast, and this is due to a couple of fundamental changes in the industry. One change he pointed to is a more systematic observation of the markets, with more accessible pricing information and now-standard models that didnt exist five or more years ago.