Policyholders’ Rights and Brokers’ Risks in a volatile and financially uncertain environment |
| Date Added: May 26, 2011 12:05:36 PM |
| Author: Mark Boland |
| Category: Business and Economy: Finance and Investment |
| As insurance brokers we are all concerned with the uncertainty of the current economic environment, the incredible volatility of financial markets in recent months, the effect of Solvency II on insurers capital requirements and how these events may manifest themselves within the commercial insurance industry, and ultimately within the performances of our own businesses. In a report on the Irish Non-Life insurance market published by Standard & Poor’s in 2009, a leading provider ofinternational insurance market intelligence and one of the world’s largest providers of insurer financial strength ratings, Standard & Poor’s commented that; They “consider the outlook for the industry as challenging as a result of the downturn in the economic environment combined with the end of a golden era of underwriting profitability, which has existed for much of the decade. In such a mature market, where the subsidiaries of international insurers and indigenous players operate in a highly competitive environment, opportunities for growth are viewed as limited. We therefore expect companies to place greater emphasis on increasingly technical underwriting, a focus on risk management, and greater operational efficiencies. The benefits of these changes may be eroded, however, if the market once again demonstrates some of the extreme behaviours exhibited during the long soft market.” “Overall results are expected to be affected by a decline in technical results as well as a lower level of prior-year reserve releases and weak investment results.” “It is therefore essential that the focus remains on price discipline to ensure the long-term economics of the marketplace.” Since this Standard & Poor’s report we are all aware of the continued deterioration in the economic environment with little sign of change as we move through Q2. This is further compounded by the uncertainties of solvency II, particularly on smaller insurers operating in niche markets and their ability to comply with their capital requirements as determined by the standard model. Insurance brokers are all too aware of their duty to continually monitor and assess the financial strength of the insurers recommend to their clients. However what happens when it all goes wrong and we see a repeat of 1983 where we saw the collapse of PMPA or 1985 where the government stepped in to prevent the collapse of the Insurance Corporation of Ireland or 2001 where liquidators were appointed to the Independent Insurance Company Limited and more recently in 2010 where we saw the appointment of administrators to Quinn Insurance Ltd. |
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