While most insurance industry professionals would agree there is never really a good time for a soft market, having one during an economic downturn creates a particularly unique set of challenges for inland marine carriers, as a slowing economy, collapsing housing market and soaring oil prices squeeze the segment's two biggest sources of business--construction and trucking risks.
For the construction industry, the subprime crisis and subsequent housing market crash has brought many projects to a grinding halt, as the number of new residential properties has fallen off significantly. Additionally, woes in the residential construction market are not being sufficiently offset by any increase in other types of building projects in a slackening economy.
Meanwhile, the rising price of fuel has dramatically increased costs for the trucking industry, while revenues have remained flat or begun to fall to reflect slower economic activity. This scenario has threatened the economic viability of some trucking companies, but it has also created safety issues, as these firms have less money to reinvest in the maintenance of their fleets.
Recommended For You
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
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 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.
