Declarations

Column as You See ‘Em

“The insurance companies that wrote credit default swaps were happy not to be regulated.”

—Comments by Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson in a New York Times op-ed column that claimed his company “played only a small role in unregulated insurance markets.” New York regulators are now looking into Allstate’s role in these markets.

The Cost of Maturity

“Keeping customers on board is absolutely critical for the long-term profitability of an insurance carrier.”

—Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, commenting on a new report that says retaining existing customers has never been more important to insurance companies’ long-term profitability. The report finds that in the past 12 months, 30 percent of households with annual incomes below $50,000 shopped for a new insurance carrier and 45 percent of those customers eventually switched carriers.

Mitigating Circumstances

“It is our deep belief that loss mitigation, strong and well-enforced building codes and sensible land-use planning are critical to reducing risk to life and property as well as to making private insurance more plentiful in coastal areas.”

—Joan Woodward, executive vice president of public policy at Travelers, which is part of a coalition of insurers, public officials, risk experts, builders and conservation groups urging President Obama to take new steps to reduce property risks along U.S. coastlines.

Near Bottom

“Over the next quarter, our view point toward a continuing favorable market with the realization that we are at—or very near—the bottom of the pricing cycle.

—Mark Moreland of Lockton’s Risk Management team on the casualty insurance market noted that most casualty buyers have still seen favorable renewals, but that may soon change.

Threatened Coasts

“Our coasts are threatened, there are reasonable steps to counter those threats, and we as a nation are not yet taking them. … Evidence shows we can reduce our risks and our costs by 50 percent or more.”

—Statement from the Resilient Coasts Blueprint, which outlines policy changes and common sense actions that could reduce economic losses from future storms and rising sea levels by as much as half along U.S. coastlines. The initiative is endorsed by a coalition of insurers, public officials, risk experts, builders and conservation groups.