At insurance-broker Aon Risk Solution's private risk-management practice, President Ray Condon says the buyers can be broken down into three different groups. Each group, he says, dealt with the economic reality differently:

• Those with insurable assets between $1 million and $5 million were the most cost-conscious during the height of the economic downturn. They wanted good coverage but also wanted to save money. Those in the construction and financial investment areas, hit hard by the recession, made the most changes—opting for higher deductibles, getting competitive bids on programs from different carriers or cutting back on coverage where it was not deemed necessary. For example, a buyer would insure jewelry pieces worn on a daily basis and put the rest in a vault.
• Those in the $5-$50 million range were not as hard-hit but still opted for taking on higher deductibles to mitigate their insurance costs.
• For the nine-figure-and-up ultra-rich, Condon says there was no slowdown in their insurance purchases, adding they remained “stable and consistent.”

Jim Fiske, U.S. marketing manager for Chubb Personal Insurance, says there was increased activity around deductibles for the wealthy insured and an increased interest in clients and agents reviewing policies for available discounts, such as security systems and home renovations that result in electrical upgrades.