General Insurance Article - Russell Group survey of casualty reinsurers

 A (Re)insurance World of Reducing Premiums, Increasing Exposures, & Connected Risks in 2016

 The key effects of the soft market would result in reduced margin and profit according to nearly three quarters of casualty underwriters polled in the survey while almost two third agreed that the soft market is the biggest challenge facing casualty reinsurers today.

 Portfolio re-balancing (37%) and risk selection (37%) were considered by nearly three quarters of the survey participants to be the best remedies to counteract the soft market’s effects. The survey polled 60% of casualty (re)insurers who defined a systemic risk event as a large loss clash event across a number of casualty product lines.

 Most worrying from a C-suite perspective, 70% of casualty underwriters said they do not have the tools to quantify the effect of a systemic casualty event on their portfolio.

 Russell Group MD Suki Basi, said: “The survey highlights concerns that are shared by casualty (re)insurers I have been speaking to this year, which is that their class of business is facing a range of exposures that they are unable to name, let alone model. Yes, the soft market is the primary concern and understandably so but increasing exposure and risk accumulation are concerns too.

 To download the survey click here