Rates and profits down in the US
Hard times are descending on the US general insurance industry. Ratings agency AM Best has revised its forecast for the sector and says the economic indicators are all heading painfully south.
AM Best expects net written premiums to fall by 0.7% this calendar year. That’s only a fraction more than the 0.6% decline the company predicted in January but it now includes a significant level of commercial premium decline.
This sector is expected to have fallen by 2.3% by the end of the year. Best’s estimated combined ratio has risen above the break-even point, up five percentage points to 103.2%.
Insurance research group MarketScout has a similarly pessimistic view. Its latest report shows the US market has continued to soften, with many policyholders able to renegotiate contracts in their favour just before the current financial crisis became visible.
AM Best expects net written premiums to fall by 0.7% this calendar year. That’s only a fraction more than the 0.6% decline the company predicted in January but it now includes a significant level of commercial premium decline.
This sector is expected to have fallen by 2.3% by the end of the year. Best’s estimated combined ratio has risen above the break-even point, up five percentage points to 103.2%.
Insurance research group MarketScout has a similarly pessimistic view. Its latest report shows the US market has continued to soften, with many policyholders able to renegotiate contracts in their favour just before the current financial crisis became visible.