Recent major catastrophes hit property and casualty insurance
Income from property/casualty insurance in the US fell by 29.3% in the first quarter of 2011 according to a recent report by AM Best.
The main driver for this fall is the $3.6 bn of losses incurred due to recent natural catastrophes.
The US reinsurance and Bermuda market also reported a net loss of $3bn in the first quarter of 2011.
The property/casualty industry is proving to be resilient as policyholders’ surplus increased to a record $561.2 billion on March 31 2011.
Premium growth trends are expected to remain positive in the remainder of 2011. However tornado activity, floods, wildfires and the hurricane season have the industry bracing itself for what could be record losses.
“Insurers have seen their return on capital fall…the expectation is that at some point we will see a hardening of the market as insurers address this fall on return” said Martyn Street, a director at rating agency Fitch.
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