shutterstock-18188374-web
3 February 2014

Markey: quoting not now only confined to recognised renewals

Reinsurers are increasingly ready to extend early quotes to clients with whom they are keen to build and maintain strong relationships, with more multi-year and aggregate structures apparent in the market.

Speaking with Paul Markey, chairman of Aon Group (Bermuda), he says that with reinsurers keen to develop relationships with key clients “if everyone is ready early, why wait”.

Markey says that in the current environment the industry is “seeing more multi-year and aggregate structures that were not popular a few years back”, as reinsurers respond to a competitive dynamic characterised by increasing levels of ILS capital.

“I’d say that quite often an early renewal reflects a declining market, but in certain short-term sections of the market, such as some areas of retro for example, waiting may pay dividends.”

Markey says it is however not unusual for Aon Benfield “to be in the market 24/7/365 with clients. When trends start to appear we’ll gauge with the client what is the best strategy for both long and short-term risk management.”

He cautions however “never to put your eggs in one basket. Instead clients should pursue a differentiated approach to each risk”.