He said in Asia companies are seeing premium reductions of 20 percent or more, and rates in Latin America have dropped by 10 percent. The competition is widespread, except for those risks that have experienced losses, he continued.

Casualty programs are flat or experiencing small reductions in most regions, and capacity remains stable, said Mr. Whitmore.

"Continued competition among local insurers benefits clients and improves terms and conditions, and lowers prices," he continued.

Insurers are seeking to diversify their property risk portfolios outside of the United States, he said, increasing the trend toward a competitive market overseas.

London market renewals without a catastrophe exposure are seeing decreases of 10-to-15 percent. Moderately exposed catastrophe programs are seeing flat to an increase of 10 percent. Heavily exposed programs are renewing with as much as 15 percent increases, according to Marsh.

Asia, Mr. Whitmore said, is very soft with enormous growth potential. He said concerns are the same for catastrophe-exposed areas, but outside of those segments, competition is fierce.

China is the most competitive, and may have reached a floor in pricing, Mr. Whitmore noted. The China regulatory body, China Insurance Regulatory Commission, has called on Chinese companies to take "a more responsible position on pricing" that has produced some firming in the last few months, he reported.

In Latin America, property is flat, though some risks saw a decrease of 10 percent or more. This trend is expected to continue at least through the first half of 2007, since many insurance treaties there renew in July.

There is a trend among more and more insurers to localize insurance purchase where a worldwide master plan does not work for domestic legal reasons, said Mr. Whitmore. He described the reasons for such purchase as complex, and advised that clients review their programs carefully with their broker.

Internationally, on terrorism insurance, clients need to purchase their policies in pools where available and standalone coverage where government pools are not available. The issue, he added, is becoming increasingly important as the sunset for the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act in the United States nears.

"In 2007, we expect the property insurance market to soften worldwide, with the exception of cat-exposed programs," explained Mr. Whitmore. "Most other lines of coverage, including casualty, will continue to benefit from a robust insurance industry. Competition will remain high. Insureds with good loss experience and complete quality data can expect a better result than those companies with significant cat exposures."