P/C Industry Profit Continues Downward
Wednesday, November 19th, 2003 Liability PropertyDespite reported significant premium growth since 1998, the U.S. property/casualty industry‘s profitability continues its long downward trend, an industry leader said Tuesday. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Society of Insurance Research in Florida, Frank Coyne, chairman, president and CEO of Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), further warned a return to competitive excesses following a brief partial recovery could plunge the business back into another prolonged drought in profitability. Average annual return on surplus (assets minus liabilities) fell from 13.7 percent in the 1970s to 10.3 percent in the 1980s to only 8.7 percent in the 1990s, according to Coyne. "In the first three years of this decade, the industry‘s rate of return has averaged just 2.8 percent."
