Soft rates and the challenge of growth are biggest concerns

Ahead of the annual PCI conference in Dallas, Texas, PCI Today, in association with Qatar Re, quizzed delegates about their concerns, aspirations for the conference and what they think the biggest talking points will be.

The continued soft market and the challenge of growth will be the biggest concerns of delegates at this year’s Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) conference in Dallas, Texas, this week. But many delegates are also focused on continuing and expanding client relationships.

They are some of the findings of a pre-conference online survey by PCI Today, conducted in association with Qatar Re.

Some 49 percent of respondents said they attend the event to continue and expand existing business with established clients, while 24 percent said they look to establish new client relationships and access new business opportunities. Negotiations seem to play a smaller role at PCI, in contrast to similar European conferences at this time of year.

When asked what will be the main talking points at PCI, almost 50 percent named the challenge of growth as a top concern, while 23 percent named excess capacity and current low rates. But 14 percent said providing coverage for emerging risks would be a talking point with one respondent naming IT, cyber, operational cyber exposure globally.

“New risks and growth are linked,” said one. “If the industry can work out how to price and cover things such as cyber, there is huge demand and thus business opportunity for us all.”

The biggest challenge facing delegates was clearly the soft market: low rates and soft terms and conditions, with 46 percent of people naming this; maintaining profitability in light of low investment returns was the next biggest concern, with 36 percent of people naming it.

“Soft market conditions come and go but the investment return problem (with even negative investment returns for certain government bonds) seems to be a lasting one,” one respondent said.

Respondents seemed fairly split on growth, although speciality lines came out as representing the greatest opportunity.

In tomorrow’s newsletter, Luke Roden, head of ceded re & global head of catastrophe, Qatar Re, will offer his responses to the same questions.

Why do you attend the PCI insurance conference?

What is your biggest challenge/concern at the moment?

Which lines of business do you see the fastest growth in?