'The Market is Polarising' warns JLT and XL

The normal insurance market cycle has changed according to JLT Specialty Limited (JLT) & XL Insurance (XL) who both represented at the AIRMIC partner seminar - The State of the Insurance Market: A World of Contradictions', creating polarisation through individual exposures with some pockets of hardening.

Chaired by Patrick Smith, Director of Risk, Hertz, the event highlighted that hard and soft market cycles are a thing of the past, particularly as large corporates can now structure their insurance programmes to manage and balance pricing fluctuations.

David O'Ryan, Head of Casualty, Global Risk Solutions, JLT discussed how "Premiums are increasing in specific market segments and in certain geographical areas where natural catastrophe exposures are high but that the insurance market has proved its resilience and
overall pricing remained competitive".

Nigel Bamber, Head of Client Relationship Management, UK said: "Given the considerable catastrophe losses over recent months, the current soft market is unsustainable for both Insurers & Reinsurers. Given these poor overall results, pricing should increase in 2012, despite the abundance of capital. The question is how severe the correction might be."

--ENDS--

Enquiries:
JLT Group Corporate Communications
Isabella Young
EMAIL
+44 (0)20 7558 3387

XL Services UK Limited
Sarah Booker
sarah.booker@xlgroup.com 
+44 (0)20 7621 4292

Editor's Notes:

JLT Specialty Limited

JLT Specialty Limited (JLT) is a specialist insurance broker and risk consultant providing market leading industry knowledge and expertise in specialist fields to some of the world's largest companies.
JLT is part of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group of companies, a leading risk management adviser, insurance and reinsurance broker and a major provider of employee benefits administration services and related consultancy advice.
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and employs over 6,500 people worldwide and through the JLT International Network provides services in more than 130 countries.

 

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT) is an international group of risk specialists and employee benefits consultants and one of the largest companies of its type in the world. JLT offers a distinctive choice to clients and partners through our combination of independence, scale and specialism.

The Jardine Lloyd Thompson group is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and employs over 6500 people worldwide and through the JLT International Network provides services in more than 130 countries.

About XL Group plc
XL Group plc, through its subsidiaries, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world.

XL is the company clients look to for answers to their most complex risks and to help move their world forward. Its principal offices are located at No.1 Hatch Street Upper, 4th Floor, Dublin2, Ireland. To learn more, visit www.xlgroup.com