Record Hurricane Insurance Payments Made
INSURANCE
Insurers demonstrated the robustness of their reinsurance arrangements and claims responsiveness with swift payments of most of the US$100 billion in insured losses.
By Risk Management Services
The passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, during the worst hurricane season to date, marked the first recorded instance of two Category 5 hurricanes occurring in the same month and accentuated the need for all Caribbean territories to re-evaluate the maximum wind speeds that can now be expected and to revise and enforce building codes appropriately. It was initially believed that reinsurers would react decisively to raise property rates across the region, however, rate increases for the first quarter of 2018 were modest following an influx of capital into the reinsurance market. Likewise, insurers have been very selective in their rate increases with those territories that are in the main hurricane pathways seeing the bulk of the increase.While some local insurers pressed for rate increases in the local market, this is yet to be realised. However, the downward pressure on property insurance rates has been alleviated with most claims-free property renewals holding their expiring rates.
Passage of the New Insurance Act After some 12 years of review by the various stakeholder groups, the Insurance Act 2018 was proclaimed in June. The immediate challenge for all insurance companies and intermediaries will be understanding and meeting the new requirements for capital, solvency, registration etc. particularly given the heavy penalties for non-compliance.
Trends in Motor Insurance Heightened police checkpoints, alcohol testing and adjusted speed limits provided benefits to both the driving public and insurers with the number of major road accidents continuing its downward trend in 2017. The trend is welcome news to a very competitive motor insurance market that is now experiencing its first local online insurance quotation comparison service. However, an alarming upsurge in motor vehicle thefts in early 2018 may temper any reduction in losses from motor accidents. A trio of motor insurers joined forces to introduce ForenSys, a motor accident management company that collects and preserves information at the scene of serious accidents. This service is intended to help determine liability in disputed motor accident scenes.
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