More than 70 percent of executives surveyed at an industry conference believe the property and casualty insurance sector will see premium growth in the year ahead.

Also, nearly half of the 150 property-casualty executives surveyed at KPMG's 17th Annual Insurance Industry Conference said they believe that regulatory risk poses the greatest threat to their industry. That 46 percent figure represents a doubling of the percentage that believed so at the same event last year, KPMG said.

A total of 30 percent felt concentration of risk posed the greatest threat, while interest rate risk was the top concern of 9 percent of the respondents.

"In light of events that have impacted the industry, it is not surprising to find executives anxious about risk management and compliance issues," said Fred Donner, national leader for KPMG's insurance practice.

The executives expect not only more premium growth in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita but also higher profit margins, with 70 percent expressing such a belief.

Executives also feel the insurance industry is better positioned to withstand the aftermath of natural disasters. Nearly 90 percent felt there would not be the same industry fallout that occurred after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.