In last year's Review & Outlook issue, we celebrated the fact that we'd made it through 2009 and were looking forward to gradual improvement in 2010. One year later, although things are far from rosy, it's probably safe to say that 2010 has been a year of stabilization in the insurance industry and the economy in general. The Dow is once again regularly topping 11,000, mass layoffs have slowed to a trickle and retailers are anticipating a spike in holiday spending.
The real problem right now seems to be a lingering uncertainty on the part of many U.S. businesses about how to proceed. So much is still up in the air, including the possible repeal of healthcare reform and the Bush-era tax cuts, that typically decisive business owners have been reduced to acting like deer in the headlights.
It's not necessarily a matter of being short on cash. Although some businesses were hurting in 2010, many–including banks, insurance companies and the big brokers–experienced significant profitability. But with so much uncertainty still swirling around Capitol Hill and the economy, many businesses simply feel safer sitting on their assets instead of gearing up for growth.
I can't say that I blame them–consumers are doing the same thing by squirreling away savings instead of spending their way out of the recession. But the waiting game has become a stalemated staring contest. Someone needs to be the first to blink–to loosen the purse strings and start building their businesses in anticipation of the future instead of acting as if the Apocalypse is imminent. Because no matter what's happening or not happening in Congress, people still need cars, houses and durable goods–and they still need to insure them.
In this year's Review & Outlook issue, we talked to a cross-section of experts within the insurance industry on how they're looking to the future. Most are cautiously optimistic about 2011, and many were focusing on growth industries like healthcare services, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing and technology. Our consultant sources stressed that hiring young people is just as important as finding new business. And the young insurance professionals we spoke with in this issue are convinced that insurance is a vital and exciting industry, and they're using their talent for technology to connect with clients and build their businesses.
There's a great old Depression-era song whose lyrics go, “We're in the money/Come on my honey/Let's spend it, lend it, send it rolling along.” You don't have to break the bank to invest in the future, but you do have to believe we have a future. Our R&O sources do, and so should you.
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