The latest insurance industry financial numbers from the US, produced by rating agency A.M. Best, suggests that insurers down south have pulled the rabbit from the hat similar to their Canadian cousins in terms of a rapid profit recovery over the course of the first six months of this year. Increased surplus means greater market capacity and financially stronger insurers. So, the current financial outlook of the North American property and casualty insurance industry appears "rosy", offering the promise of a period of market stability. But, nagging fears persist that beneath the apparently calm surface of the industry linger turbulent waters. For instance, premium growth, and therefore price firming, appears to be stalling for Canadian and US companies - with the reinsurance sector showing the first signs of weakness. Fairly aggressive pricing activity by some insurers has already been reported by brokers and risk managers across Canada and the US, thus stirring concerns of yet another pending "soft market".

Property & casualty insurance