Catlin Group CEO Stephen Catlin has accused Aon Benfield’s Chief Strategy Officer Bryon Ehrhart of being “irresponsible” on rates.

Speaking at the industry’s annual Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo, Mr Catlin said it’s irresponsible to talk the market down when it is in a situation of low earnings and low investment income.

“This market at the very least has to flatten and actually needs to go up,” he said. “If that doesn’t happen, then in the future your clients and our clients will suffer. We have to put prices up to move forward.”

Mr Catlin warns that if incremental price increases are not accepted by brokers, the eventual response from the reinsurance market will be sudden and significant price increases.

“If the intermediary insists that rates must go down… you've let your client down big time, because you’re creating a knee-jerk reaction in future,” he said.

Aon Benfield has been the most bearish reinsurance broker on rates over the past six months, calling for rate reductions during the mid-year renewals in June and July.

Defending his company’s stance, Mr Ehrhart said: “I’m sorry if prices are down and that’s unsettling.

“We work for insurers and a lot of you guys have insurance operations as well. And there are very many of those companies that are struggling to put prices up.”