By The Altus Team
It’s no secret the insurance industry is a cyclical one, subject to the ebb and flow of market conditions and phenomena like climate change and natural disasters. Halfway through 2019, the tides turned significantly, and by early 2020 what had been a hardening market took a turn for the worse.
As COVID-19 and other events coincided with record-low interest rates and a rise in jackpot verdicts, insurers increased prices, reduced capacity and restricted terms and conditions. Rather than making these changes gradually, carriers pushed forward aggressively—which is especially disappointing when you consider the challenges that many insurance buyers have faced over the past year during the pandemic.
In his article for PropertyCasualty360, “This hard market may come back to haunt underwriters,” Charlie Wilmerding explores how many agents, brokers and carriers have responded—and contributed to—hardening market conditions, and what that means for their clients as well as the future of the commission-driven insurance business.