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A.M. BestTV: Insurers See Opportunity In Reset of Trade Deals


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Lee McDonald
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - FEBRUARY 10, 2017 02:07 PM (EST)
In this A.M.BestTV episode, insurers say the scrapping of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and the renegotiating of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could mean more individualized arrangements between countries, but also warn they are cautious about maintaining access to markets. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=tpp217 to view the entire program.

President Trump withdrew the United States’ participation in TPP, which included 12 countries, representing 40% of the world’s economy.

Meg Mulry, senior economist, economic & industry research, A.M. Best, addressed the potential impact of withdrawing from the TPP on insurers.

“There has been a lot of concern in the insurance industry about the reorganization of NAFTA, the stepping away from TPP and what role China is going to play in Southeast Asia,” said Multry. “With these items in mind, A.M. Best is definitely concerned about what could happen going forward as global insurers look to access new markets.”

However, with the revised trade deals, Leigh Ann Pusey, president and chief executive officer, American Insurance Association, sees new opportunities for the insurance industry.

“There are open opportunities for growth as economies get tightened,” said Pusey. “In these markets around the globe, insurance is providing a service that is helping build out their capacity, which these markets cannot do inside their own four walls.”

Other people that appear in this episode:


  • Clarence Wong, chief economist, Asia-Pacific, Swiss Reinsurance Company.

Recent episodes of A.M.BestTV include:


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  • Insurers Laud Markel at Leader of the Year Event: Highlights from the annual Insurance Leader of the Year dinner, where 1,500 insurance executives gathered in New York City, to honor Anthony Markel, vice chairman, Markel Corporation, as 2016’s Insurance Leader of the Year: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=insuranceleader217 .

  • Institutional Investors Drawn to Life Settlement Market: Attendees at the annual Life Settlement Institutional Investor Conference in New York, said there is renewed interest in the repurchasing of life policies but it faces a range of challenges: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=lisa217 .

  • Personal Lines Sector Holds Sole Stable U.S. Property/Casualty Outlook: A.M. Best Senior Managing Director and Chief Rating Officer Stefan Holzberger reviews highlights from A.M. Best’s annual Review/Preview report for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry, including how automobile, homeowners and commercial writers are responding to a challenging underwriting environment and an abundance of capital: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=pc117 .

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.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.