Willis Re Releases Annual Renewals Report July 2008 --Whose Cycle is it Anyway?--
London, UK, July 1, 2008 –
Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: WSH), the global
insurance broker, has released its annual reinsurance renewals report for July 2008.
Titled “Whose Cycle is it Anyway?”, the report finds that while softening in the
reinsurance market continues unfettered, a disparity remains between reinsurance
and primary pricing levels. While recent reinsurance price reductions have provided
some relief for many cedants, these gains may quickly reverse in what is a
deceptively tenuous environment, the report noted.
The report focuses on rate movements across numerous territories and includes
detailed analysis from Willis Re’s product line experts. Key findings of the report
include:
- Reinsurers may need to implement more transient capital structures and take
on additional leverage if post-loss funding becomes less attractive to capital
markets.
- Potential subprime “shock losses” and falling rates / pricing present greater
parameter risk – taken together, these may cause edginess about reserve
adequacy.
- With the brunt of the Atlantic hurricane season yet to arrive, the potential for
further / sizeable losses looms and reinsurer 2008 profits are anything but
assured.
- Some investors have shifted their focus from the ILS sector to opportunities in
the credit markets that are perceived to be more attractive.
- As the market increasingly understands the benefits and advantages of ILS
products, a less cyclical outcome is probable.
Peter Hearn, CEO, Willis Re comments: “Our industry faces many traditional risks,
but it is the ‘tail’ events like 9/11, Katrina and the subprime crisis that drive change in
the intertwined global reinsurance marketplace. Current pricing trends, however,
seem to indicate that the market is giving little weight to the potential for extreme
events. We hope that this report will give our clients a good overview of the market
this renewal season and we will work together to proactively address the full scope of
their risk profiles going forward in 2008.”
To read the report in full, please click here.
Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering
professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource
consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the
world. Willis has more than 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of
approximately 16,000 Associates serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional
information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.