Insurance cycles are set to continue, according to leading insurers speaking at the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) conference in Rome.
But some believe that future insurance cycles will not be as pronounced as those in the past.
President and chief executive of Zurich North America, John Amore, who also has responsibility for Zurich's global corporate business, said an improvement in the quality of information supplied to insurers by businesses, coupled with better internal management and controls within insurance companies, would "moderate" market cycles.
Chief executive of Allianz Global Risks, Steve Schleisman, said that the more pronounced role of the ratings agencies in the insurance market would also lead to increased stability, as the ratings agencies would have a "much more moderating force on extreme competitive behaviour". But Schleisman said the perception of a single market cycle was false. "There's multiple cycles for multiple products for multiple markets," he said.
In terms of insurance rates, Amore said that while premiums in the casualty classes were still rising, property rates had "leveled off" in the UK and US. But Amore said that property rates were continuing to increase in continental Europe.
