SURVEY: PRICING SURPASSES TERRORISM AS TOP CONCERN:

An industry survey reveals that pricing is the top of concern facing major reinsurers and carriers in 2004, dramatically surpassing last year’s survey results where the top concern was terrorism. According to the survey, Industry Outlook 2004, conducted by National Marketing Services Inc., 82 percent of the executives polled also viewed Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry as a foe of the industry. Despite some emerging concerns about President Bush and lingering worries about terrorism, industry executives solidly support a Bush re-election bid by 57 percent compared to 19 percent support for Kerry, the survey found. The survey, which was conducted by telephone with a random sample of insurance executives in the United States and Canada, found that last year’s major concerns about mold have been substantially reduced, while concerns about media fairness to the industry have significantly increased. Eighty-two percent now view the media as a foe, nearly double last year’s 47 percent response.