Key Issue in the P-C Insurance Industry: Overview & Outlook Focus on PA, VA and WV Markets

This PowerPoint report, presented by Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, at the PAMIC VAMIC WVAMIC Convention, reviews key issues impacting the property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry, with a particular focus on the Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia markets. Sections of the presentation look at reasons for optimism and causes for concern in the current economic environment; insurance industry financials, including, profitability, premium growth and underwriting performance and financial market impacts. An analysis by line of the P/C insurance markets in the three states that are the focus of the report found that the average return on equity over the past 10 years in Pennsylvania stood at 6.3 percent and 6.7 percent in West Virginia, below the 7.0 percent rate for the U.S. overall, while Virginia, at 10.6 percent, is above. The presentation analyzes the reasons certain businesses experience extreme longevity, with a emphasis on mutual insurers. Other sections discuss how financial services reform may impact the insurance industry; capital and capacity; the tort system; performance by segment/line, financial strength and ratings; the global economic situation; crisis-driven exposure issues; exposure, growth and profitability; and catastrophe losses.