June 30 renewals are approaching and the message from brokers around the country is loud and clear: it’s going to be a tough one, with clients facing premiums dramatically higher than they were last June – before the impact of September 11. They were only rising gradually last time.

The best-prepared brokers are the ones who will do best, according to PI expert Frank Earl, MD of Arthur J Gallagher Professional Services Australasia and Vice-President of NIBA. “We’re living in the most volatile market ever and people need to understand that,” he said. “The fact is that there are some [brokers] who haven’t started negotiating their renewals yet. They’re leaving it too late.”

Prepared or not, many brokers believe their best efforts are being stymied by insurers unwilling to place risks even for long-established customers. “It’s going to be a nightmare,” said Wayne Clarkson, MD of Great Western Insurance Brokers in WA.

“We are just waiting and waiting and waiting to see what happens. It’s really difficult when you’re an intermediary and you have to explain to a client why their premiums have risen 50% to 60%. What’s really disappointing is the underwriters’ attitudes. It’s now really a case of what will you write, not what won’t you write.”

Tony Peterson, MD of Australian Professional Insurance Brokers in Wagga Wagga, NSW, said there is an issue with “consistency between underwriters”.

“It’s crystal ball stuff,” he said. “You just don’t know what to expect from one underwriter to the next.”

Concord Insurance Group Director Ian Parsons said things are running “reasonably well” on the company’s underwriting end. “Most of the renewals have been done. The terms have already been issued, and we’re just waiting for declining policies. But other than that, we’re on top of it.”

But Mr Parsons admits placing business locally is extremely difficult. “We’ve had to place a lot of business in London because local insurers won’t accept it.”