The recession has reshaped the small-business market for property/casualty insurers, cutting overall premium by 17% since 2007 vs. an 8% drop for mid-sized and large companies in the same time period, according to a study released last week by Conning Research and Consulting. Conning also found the economic downturn has driven small-business accounts from small insurers to carriers posting annual premium of at least $500 million from this type of risk.
The P/C market for firms with fewer than 50 employees "suffered disproportionately during and after the recession, partly due to . . . [the sector's] substantial exposure to the contracting industry," Conning analyst Clint Harris said in a statement. In addition, "despite the shift of market share from small to larger insurers, not all small insurers are losing share, and not all larger insurers are gaining," Stephan Christiansen, Conning's director of research, said in a statement.
"The insurers that have been increasing their market share have been active in the market, acquiring business, increasing products and services, and expanding their distribution footprints," Christiansen said. "Even if the small-business sector experiences rapid growth for the next few years, we believe that the shift in market share [from small to larger carriers] will continue."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment