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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - JANUARY 25, 2019 02:14 PM (EST)
In this episode of AM BestTV, Stefan Holzberger, senior managing director and chief rating officer, AM Best, said recent hurricanes and wildfires created business interruptions and other losses beyond the expectations of modelers, insurers and investors. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=holzberger119 to view the entire program.
At the annual Joint Industry Forum in New York City, Holzberger spoke about what his expectations are for the industry in 2019.
“I think after two very challenging years in 2017 and 2018, from a natural catastrophe perspective, the industry may be reaching an inflection point in 2019 with regard to capacity, rates, and terms and conditions,” said Holzberger. “The insurance industry is used to severe natural catastrophes, but there were some elements of the events over the last couple of years that, to a degree, caught the industry by surprise. By that, I am talking about late last year, with the severity of the California wildfires, which was a peril that was not overly well modeled by the modeling companies.”
Holzberger also discussed AM Best’s market segment outlooks for 2019.
“In the United States, for personal lines, commercial lines and property/casualty reinsurance, AM Best has a stable outlook on all three segments. Although the amount of capacity in the market is a bit of a double-edged sword, AM Best expects that 2019 will be a better rate environment for the property/casualty industry than it has been over the last several years.”
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AM Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry.