Commercial insurance prices premium renewal rates increased in the mid-single digits for most lines in November, said insurance exchange Ivans Insurance Services. Last week you were reading Insurance Premium Renewal Rates Continue To Rise. This week we’re bringing you:
Building “a fine-tuned Swiss watch” of a specialty insurance business*
“If people want to come to a fine-tuned Swiss watch, this is probably not the place to be. But if they want to help build a fine-tuned Swiss watch, this is a great place to be.”
That’s how Lisa Davis (pictured) refers to Canopius Group’s burgeoning USA business, which recently secured an agreement with Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance (SFMI), Canopius Group’s substantial minority shareholder and business partner, to underwrite US admitted business on its highly rated A++ paper.
This is the latest milestone in Canopius USA’s quick evolution since Davis joined the firm as president and chief underwriting officer in September 2020. A 30-year insurance veteran and experienced leader in the US specialty insurance industry, Davis was hired with the remit of bringing Canopius’s existing US business units together, and building a specialty insurance company with a flexible and entrepreneurial spirit, backed by the strength and stability of multiple world-class insurance platforms.
Prior to Davis’s appointment, Canopius was operating in the US via two distinct platforms: Canopius US Insurance, Inc. (CUSI), an insurance company licensed in all 50 states that writes excess and surplus (E&S) lines binding authority business through select distribution partners; and Canopius Underwriting Agency, Inc. (CUAI), an MGA, underwriting solutions for open market property, ocean marine, management & professional lines, and cyber business.
‘Catch-Up Care’ Helps Explain Rise in Employers’ Health Insurance Costs: Mercer*
Health insurance costs for employers rose the most in over a decade this year as Americans resumed non-urgent procedures delayed earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published on Monday.
The survey by benefits company Mercer of firms that employ about 118 million people showed the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance per employee jumped 6.3% this year to $14,542 – the largest rise since 2010.
The increase was just 3.4% in 2020 when the pandemic had strained hospital capacity and forced people to put off elective procedures.
“I think that’s (catch-up care) certainly part of the cost driver,” Kate Brown, Mercer’s Center for Health Innovation Leader, told Reuters.
Brown said several other factors, including claims related to the treatment of long-term effects of COVID-19 and specialty drug pricing, could also be driving the cost rise and may continue into 2022.
The survey, which included 1,745 public and private employers, showed firms expect a “fairly typical” cost increase of 4.4% next year.
But most of them were unwilling to try to reduce the cost increase as they double down on making physical and mental healthcare more affordable for employees dealing with the stress of the nearly two-year-long pandemic.
Tracy Watts, national leader for U.S. health policy at Mercer, said generous health benefits could help companies in attracting and retaining staff in the tight labor market.
Price hikes expected to continue in 2022: Alera*
Commercial insurance pricing will continue to trend upward in 2022 but at a slower rate than in 2021 and with great variation between lines, Alera Group Inc. said Tuesday.
The broker said it sees moderation in the rates of increase.
“The rate of increase appears to be slowing in several lines, including general liability and commercial auto. There is also some softening of property rates in non-catastrophe-prone areas. However, businesses in catastrophe-prone areas will continue to face pricing challenges.”
Increasing weather and climate-related disasters are driving markets.
In 2020, there were 22 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters across the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, topping the previous annual record of 16 events in 2017, Alera said.
As of third-quarter 2021, there have already been 18 weather or climate disaster events in the U.S., with losses exceeding $1 billion each. “These losses continue to affect property insurance rates and coverage availability,” Alera said.
Cyber lines also face challenges with cybercrime growing “exponentially” and costs of global cybercrime expected to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, according to research and publishing firm Cybersecurity Ventures.
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