best insurance stock - 2013 Asian commercial insurance rates :Continued economic growth and low natural catastrophe losses , combined with strong competition between insurers in most classes of business , will continue to provide favourable market conditions for buyers of commercial insurance in Asia during 2013 , according to a report published today by Marsh.
Organisations across Asia , especially those with little or no exposure to natural catastrophe risk or with good loss histories , should be able to secure reductions on their insurance rates , continuing a animo begun in the second half of 2012 , Marsh noted in its Asia Insurance Market Report 2013.
However , Asian companies offering employee benefit programs can expect more challenging conditions this year as medical cost inflation continues to escalate significantly , putting upward pressure on rates.
For example , Marsh expects insurers to seek average rate increases of up to 35% in Thailand where medical inflation is expected to rise between 20% and 25% this year. An upward animo , with local variations , is expected to be seen in most Asian countries.
Marsh also noted that while rates for directors and officers (D&O) insurance for US-listed Chinese companies remained high the market had largely stabilised , partly due to a slow-down in IPO activity.
Across the rest of Asia , D&O rates generally remained flat or decreased , as increased litigation against directors was offset by an increase in insurance capacity.
“The insurance market in Asia remains generally favourable to buyers as the flow of capital , capacity and competition into the region keeps rates competitive ,” says Martin South , CEO of Marsh in Asia-Pacific.
“However , there will always be the possibility of spikes in premiums following large market losses. As the industry matures , clients should focus on providing their insurers with robust evidence of their risk management and mitigation strategies , not only to secure competitive pricing , but also to ensure they have insurance protection aligned to their particular risk needs.”
The report also finds that employees’ compensation (workers’ compensation) in Hong Kong continues to be a challenging market. Rates continue to rise significantly as loss experiences deteriorate and major insurers enter and exit the market , creating significant turbulence.
Banks continue to use structured trade credit insurance as a way to both deleverage their balance sheets yet still remain active in the trade finance market in Asia.
Professional liability insurance remains a buyers’ market , with highly competitive rates across Asia as new insurer entrants bring additional capacity and competition to the market , says the report.(source www.cfoinnovation.com )