Willis Survey Finds That Buyers’ Market for the Commercial Sector’s Directors & Officers Insurance Prevails in the First Quarter of 2009
Average Eight Percent Reduction on D&O Rates; Six Percent Reduction Expected for Second Quarter
London, UK, April 23, 2009 – Over the last three months, London market insurers reported an average premium reduction of eight percent on renewal business for the commercial sector’s Directors & Officers’ (D&O) liability, according to Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker. The D&O market is expected to continue softening in the second quarter of 2009, with insurers predicting reductions in excess of six percent. This is in stark contrast to the D&O rates for financial institutions where rates are hardening.
The Willis D&O Index – the latest quarterly survey from FINEX Global, Willis’ Financial, Executive Risk and Professional Liability business – asks more than 90 percent of D&O insurers from Lloyd’s and the London company market to comment on premium rates and coverage terms for the preceding three months and to make projections for the next three months.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Julian Martin, Executive Director of Willis FINEX Global, said, “The commercial sector continues to benefit from a lower claims environment than the financial institutions sector, with rates continuing to soften, albeit at a much slower rate than last year. The anticipated hardening of rates for reinsurance treaties at the year end was less severe than expected, and combined with new entrants to the market, capacity for commercial risks continues to be strong.
http://financial.e-klasa.info/2009/04/28/willis-survey-finds-that-buyers-market-for-the-commercial-sectors-directors-officers-insurance-prevails-in-the-first-quarter-of-2009/
