Staying ahead of emerging business insurance trends and challenges is crucial for organizations to protect their assets and mitigate risks. Here are some key insights from our Business Insurance Q3 Report to help you navigate the shifting landscape.
Property coverages
Despite being six years into a hard market cycle, there are signals indicating a potentially encouraging shift in market appetite for 2024. Our expectations for 2024 point towards a greater emphasis on new business growth in key markets such as the U.S., London, and other overseas regions. This surge in new business has the potential to create a more competitive environment within the property arena.
The industry’s focus on severe convective storms and wildfires remains a serious concern for underwriters. These events continue to drive a significant share of insured losses in the United States. There were 24 confirmed weather and climate disaster events in 2023, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. As we enter an election year, we may also witness a revised emphasis on coverages related to strikes, riots, and civil commotion.
Coverage predictions
On average, casualty coverages such as automobile/fleet are seeing rate hikes driven by factors like social inflation which can lead to nuclear verdicts, supply chain bottlenecks, and technology challenges.
Umbrella/excess coverage continues to see rate increases in the range of 5% to 10%. However, heavier fleet exposures, high-risk business classes like construction, and organizations with significant losses may face rate hikes of over 20%.
Workers’ compensation rates have generally remained flat or even decreased slightly, with decreases of around -1%. However, it is anticipated that rates will soon start to reverse course.
Captive solutions
More organizations are using captives as a valuable risk management tool. According to the 2023 Marsh Captive Solutions Benchmarking report, the use of captives is growing across the board as interest in risk financing alternatives is higher than ever. We see this continuing in 2024.
Reinsurance
As anticipated, the casualty market has entered more cautious territory with reinsurers assessing prior year loss development and inflation, but Guy Carpenter expects capacity to remain stable. Casualty is coming into focus for January 2024 renewals as reinsurers revisit their forward-looking views on loss trends following the period of uncertainty post pandemic.
General liability considerations
General liability insurance is facing a challenging landscape due to various conditions and observations in the market. Geopolitical tensions have far-reaching implications for insurance rates and availability. Another significant factor impacting general liability insurance is social inflation and rising medical expenses. Claim costs have been on the rise in recent years, and there are no signs of this trend slowing down in the foreseeable future.
To learn more about business insurance trends, reach out to an MMA representative today.
