How to Make a Soft Landing in a Hard Insurance Market
The commercial property insurance market has hardened. The good news is insurance buyers and their brokers can still take action to help ensure they receive adequate coverage and the best rates, terms, and conditions at renewal.
What does it mean for an insurance line to “harden”?
It means carriers have a lower appetite for risk, offer less favorable coverage terms, increase the cost of premiums, and heighten underwriting scrutiny. This usually happens as a response to unfavorable market conditions and continued losses.
In worse-case scenarios, carriers may pull out of riskier markets altogether. For insureds, this may result in fewer options for coverage and a higher price tag.
What’s going on in the current insurance market?
The United States is experiencing a continuous cycle of natural catastrophes that cause billions of dollars in damages, year after year. There are:
- Wildfires ravaging the West Coast.
- Windstorms sweeping through the Great Plains.
- Snowstorms freezing over the Midwest and Northeast.
- And, hurricanes flooding coastal states.
Insurance carriers that cover extreme weather events act as economic first responders. After natural disasters, they feel the financial impact of the uptick in severe, unpredictable natural disasters firsthand.
In addition to natural catastrophes, there are other economic pressures at play. However, despite these pressures, there are proactive steps you can take to help make sure your business makes a soft landing. We’ve outlined them for you in our latest resource, Make a Soft Landing in a Hard Insurance Market.
Contact Burnham WGB Insurance Solutions
You don’t have to navigate a hard insurance market on your own. We’re here to help. Please feel free to contact the insurance and risk management experts at Burnham WGB for assistance or to get a competitive quote.
