S&P Report Foresees Improvement in UK Non-Life Insurance Sector

A new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services – “U.K. Non-Life Insurance Underwriting Performance Should Improve In 2008, But Underlying Performance May Deteriorate” – notes that, although underwriting performance in the U.K. non-life insurance industry declined in 2007, it should improve in 2008

“Performance dropped during 2007 to its weakest level since 2001,” said S&P. “Two very large weather-related losses caused most of the deterioration in 2007, although continued widespread real price erosion also played its part.”

Credit analyst Nigel Bond explained: “While there is evidence of price discipline, and even some encouraging signs of price hardening, it is not yet clear whether 2008 will see an overall improvement in the industry’s underlying performance. However, if the pricing environment continues to soften, we expect to see increasing divergence between the performance of those insurers that are actively seeking to preserve their profitability through price discipline and those that are competing aggressively for business.”

The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor’s credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at: www.ratingsdirect.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-9823 or sending an e-mail to: research_request@standardandpoors.com. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor’s public Web site at: www.standardandpoors.com.

Source: Standard & Poor’s