Discussions in reinsurance meetings at Monte Carlo and Baden Baden, along with the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers annual conference, indicate “renewals will be orderly and not acrimonious,” he said, highlighting U.S. wind business as the one possible exception. “Otherwise, I don't think you should expect a lot of fireworks out of Jan. 1 renewals.”

o Jim Bryce, CEO, IPC Re:

“We are continuing to see [property-cat reinsurance] conditions similar to–in some cases tighter than–market conditions which were found in the early 1990s,” he said.

“Withdrawal of companies in the retro arena has significantly reduced capacity despite the appearance of virtually a crash derby of sidecars,” he added. Since this retrocessional drought is worldwide, rates may improve beyond U.S. borders, he said–predicting, however, only flat to single-digit hikes for Europe outside of the United Kingdom.

“I think rates will probably improve–not to the extent that we're breaking open any champagne bottles, but I definitely do not see any deterioration in rates anywhere,” he said.

o David Cash, chief underwriting officer, Endurance Specialty:

Mr. Cash was surprised by better-than-expected Oct. 1 European renewals. “Europeans historically have been wary of new companies…So while there are new companies out there [with] fresh capacity, they have a harder time accessing that market than we do,” he said.

“The last piece of the puzzle [is] the posture that Swiss and Munich take in that market…Last year, they were clearly determined to hold market share….[W]e're not getting that signal this year just yet,” he added.

o Henry Keeling, chief operating officer, XL Capital:

Mr. Keeling said price pressures are most notable on European business and U.S. casualty, but are “not enormous.”

“We don't think we're at the point where we're reaching the edge of a cliff,” he said, noting that he's seen the “odd case” of a competitor being aggressive on an individual piece of business.

He said professional liability pricing is holding up better than he expected going into the year, and he expects a Jan. 1 firming on European property reinsurance.

o Evan Greenberg, CEO, ACE Ltd.:

Mr. Greenberg said that for noncatastrophe business, “rates continue to soften at roughly the same pace we've been experiencing throughout the year.” Renewals are orderly and achieved at adequate rates, but an occasional competitor behaves aggressively on new business.

In the absence of fourth-quarter catastrophes, Mr. Greenberg said growth in capital will fuel further softening in 2007, but “I see no signs leading me to believe that this will turn into undisciplined free-for-all.”

“On the other hand, there isn't a whole lot of room to reduce pricing and still earn a reasonable return on equity,” he concluded.

o Steve Limauro, CFO, Everest Re:

“Clearly a factor was a benign 2006 U.S. Southeast wind season. However…the real performance drivers are our strong underlying fundamentals, continued focus on underwriting discipline and market responses tailored to market conditions.”

o Brian O'Hara, CEO, XL:

Mr. O'Hara said record income was “driven by a powerful global franchise” and adjustments to underwriting discipline, reflecting the success of risk management and management restructure initiatives put in place last year.

“Our management initiative, which clearly aligned responsibility and resources, allows us to focus the entire organization on disciplined execution.”