A.M.BestTV: Annual Best's Special Report Finds Surplus Lines Sector Growing and Evolving

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - OCTOBER 13, 2014 02:40 PM (EDT)
This ^A.M.BestTV episode looks at the state of the U.S. surplus lines market with key industry participants, who say that the market is shifting, with rates rising in some lines and competition growing in others.

Brady Kelley, executive director at National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. (NAPSLO) stated, "There was nearly an 8.5% increase in surplus lines premiums in 2013, with continuing growth in 2014. This market's balance sheets are strong and its performance ratings are very stable. It's a really good market to be in today."

This year's Best's Special Report on the industry is the 20th such report. Since 1994, the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation has provided a grant to A.M. Best to produce this report.

David Blades, senior financial analyst at A.M. Best, talks about how the surplus lines market compares with the commercial sector of the U.S. property/casualty industry. "Since the first report was issued in 1994, the surplus lines industry has grown from 3.3% of the overall direct premiums written to almost 7%, and since commercial lines are really the core of the surplus lines business, surplus lines composite premiums compared to the overall commercial lines market have grown from 6% to almost 14%."

Other people who appear in this episode include:

• J. Neal Abernathy, Brown & Brown;


• Kevin Westrope, managing director, RT Specialty and president at NAPSLO 's Board of Directors;


• Maureen Caviston, president at Partners Specialty Group and a former president at NAPSLO; and


• Jeremy Johnson, president and chief executive officer at Lexington Insurance Company.

Portions of this episode were taken from a recent Best's Review webinar, titled "Inside Today's Surplus Lines Market." The entire webinar can be viewed at: http://www.bestreview.com/webinars/surplus14.

Click here to view the entire video program: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=surplus1014.

Recent episodes of ^A.M.BestTV include:

• "First Monday"--Leading Analysts Discuss U.S. Surplus Lines Improvements; Rebounding U.S. Title Sector; New Insurance Industry Survey: "First Monday" examines how U.S. surplus lines insurers bounced back in 2013, mostly because their financial results did not reflect the heavy catastrophe losses as in the previous year; how the U.S. title insurance sector is recovering alongside housing to pre-bubble norms; and the results of A.M. Best's first quarterly survey that took the temperature of the insurance industry on a number of subjects, including low interest rates and asset allocations: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=firstmonday1014.


• Rendez-Vous de Septembre: From September 13-18 A.M. Best attended the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous de Septembre. To see entire interviews conducted throughout the conference visit: http://www.ambest.tv/montecarlo.


• A.M. Best London Event to Highlight European Issues; U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council to Hear SIFI Challenge: A.M. Best's Market Briefing - Europe, the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council will hear a company's challenge to being designated a Systemically Important Financial Institution: . http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=news101014.


• Global Risk: Insurers Respond to Ebola Outbreaks: Logan Payne, a senior account manager at Lockton Global, discusses how insurers are covering aid efforts in the ongoing Ebola outbreak as responders face hurdles: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=grr1014.

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

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