President Barack Obama's stimulus package will benefit the insurance industry that is still recovering from catastrophe and investment losses from last year, a New York-based insurance broker, told the Jamaica financial community.
Harry Ennevor, president of E.G. Bowman Company, speaking to the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Capital Markets Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, said the jobs created by the plan will increase the purchase of insurance, according to a release of his remarks by his firm.
"Companies working on highway, infrastructure, housing, school, and technology projects will all require insurance for their operations, plus workers' compensation, travel-accident and health insurance for their employees," said Mr. Ennevor.
"President Obama hopes that the plan will preserve or create three to four million jobs--and many of them will be in the insurance industry, both at carriers and brokers. The stimulus package is a positive for not only the industry, but also for the U.S. and world economy," he said.
While the U.S. industry faces challenges, insurers, particularly property-casualty companies, are in much better shape than banking and other financial institutions, Mr. Ennevor pointed out.
"In the U.S., the states are responsible for regulating insurance companies," he said. "State regulators don't let operating insurance companies invest heavily in credit-default swaps or subprime mortgages. They are required to put the vast bulk of their assets in plain-vanilla stocks and bonds."
But those investments declined last year, and insurers are raising premiums to catch up, he noted. Additionally, insurance companies' catastrophe losses rose substantially last year.
"But most insurers are still making profits--something we can't say about banks and other financial companies," Mr. Ennevor added. "The vast majority of insurers are still in good financial shape, and though less wealthy than before, are well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities. The president's stimulus package will provide many opportunities for carriers, brokers and agents."
Also speaking were Orville Johnson, executive director of the Insurance Association of Jamaica, and Patrick Lawe, managing director of Lawe Insurance Brokers Limited.
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
© 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.
