Australian underwriters have “a degree of fuzziness” in their understanding of pricing rates, according to Vero COO Darren Maher.

He told the National Insurance Brokers Association Convention Vero is determined to maintain its underwriting discipline and not cave in to competitive pressures on premium rates.

The growth expectations of shareholders make it difficult for insurers not to return to their old habits when it comes to pricing, he says. It will be another 12-18 months before the market softening recovers.

“The challenge is not to repeat the boom-bust cycle of the past,” Mr Maher said. “However, the current situation shows we haven’t.”

He says Vero won’t go below the technical price when the market softens, but it also won’t go above it when the market hardens.

Vero is successfully navigating the downside of the insurance cycle by employing several strategies involving staff, customer management, leadership and business differentiation.

“Selling on value rather than price will allow us to outperform our competitors.”