OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial impairments in the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry in 2013 slid to their lowest level since 2007, amounting to little more than half of both the historical average and the 2012 impairment count. The 14 known P/C impairments in 2013 compared with 25 in 2012, with most of the impaired companies hurt by several years of volatile and generally unprofitable underwriting results, even as the industry overall turned a corner in 2013, posting its first underwriting profit since 2009. Risk retention groups (RRGs) operating in a variety of fields represented half of the 2013 impairments. This report, “P/C Impairments Dropped Sharply in 2013, but Alternative Risk Players Faltered,” covers the 45-year period from 1969 through 2013, and is the centerpiece of the latest Best’s Journal, a biweekly publication that presents A.M. Best’s original research, analysis and commentary on the global insurance industry.
Other highlights in this issue of Best’s Journal include as follows:
- Employer Migration to Self-Insured Health Plans Bodes Favorable for Stop-Loss Market: Renewed interest in the stop-loss market is expected to continue as the product grows more attractive to employers with an appetite for risk on employee health care costs, according to a Best’s Special Report, as stop-loss plans are not subject to the health insurance industry fee component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or its minimum loss ratio requirements.
- Kazakhstan’s Growth Prospects Remain Good, But Not Without Challenges: This Best’s Special Report states that Kazakhstan’s insurance sector has maintained steady growth post-financial crisis; however, recent regulatory shifts present challenges, particularly in the reinsurance and life segments.
- Recent noteworthy Best’s Credit Rating Actions, rating rationales and more.
Best’s Journal is available exclusively as part of a subscription to the Best’s Insurance News & Analysis service, and is delivered every two weeks as a bound, printed publication and in digital format via the Best’s Insurance News & Analysis website. Each issue is an installment in a cumulative business resource that provides insight from A.M. Best’s perspective as a credit rating agency, data provider and news publisher with a unique focus on the insurance industry.
To learn more about Best’s Journal, watch a brief video at www.ambest.com/sales/aboutbestsjournal.html. More information about the Best’s Insurance News & Analysis subscription service is available at www.ambest.com/sales/bina/default.asp. To order, contact Customer Service at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742 or at (800) 424-2378 when calling from the U.S. and Canada.
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