A hard market? Don’t hold your breath!

The property-casualty industry is unlikely to see a return to a traditional hard market either this year or next, despite price increases on some lines of business over recent months.

This was the message from Robert Hartwig, president and economist of the Insurance Information Institute to delegates at the Casualty Actuarial Society’s Seminar on Reinsurance.

Hartwig noted four criteria that must be met for a hard market to ensue: