While there are always a number of wild cards in play, it could be said that performance in the Property & Casualty insurance market in 2015 will depend greatly on two things: the impact of new capacity on rate pricing, and whether or not Mother Nature's relative streak of kindness will last.
With few natural catastrophes of any great significance again this year, property rates in particular will see decline. (Editor's Note: At the time of this writing, claims figures for the historic Buffalo snowstorm have yet to be reported.) Rates in property have been falling for several consecutive periods, in part as a result of low loss numbers; Swiss Re reports that worldwide property losses totaled $21 billion for the first six months of 2014, compared with $25 billion during the same period in 2013. This trend is expected to continue.
Lower-than-usual catastrophe losses have contributed to overall softening conditions in the P&C market, and as long as that remains the case—and capital remains abundant, which is expected—soft-market conditions should remain the norm in the year to come.
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Shawn Moynihan
Shawn Moynihan is Editor-in-Chief of National Underwriter Property & Casualty. A St. John’s University alum, Moynihan has earned 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards, the Pulitzers of the business press; seven Azbee Awards, from the American Society of Business Press Editors; two Folio Awards; and a SABEW award, from the Society of American Business Editors & Writers. Prior to joining ALM, he served as Managing Editor/Online Editor of journalism institution Editor & Publisher, the trade bible of the newspaper industry. Moynihan also has held editorial positions with AOL, Metro New York, and Newhouse Newspapers. He can be reached at [email protected].
