Excess casualty

The first signs of limit expansion, growing appetite in the admitted market, and retail brokers' impatience with wholesalers are all evident.

The exit of the start-up line will allow the company to apply its resources and underwriting expertise to other segments.

One question in the community is whether nuclear verdicts this year will spark a re-acceleration of rates, especially in the lead excess layers.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

While panelists agreed that tort reform is needed, they also noted that it couldn’t be achieved by force from the insurance industry alone.

General and products liability rate increases will slow down in 2023, with an expanding number of insureds expected to experience flat to 5% hikes as the year progresses, according to USI.

Axis’ pivot away from property reinsurance comes just as the sector reaches one of the biggest inflection points.

Commercial auto, hospitality, public entity and higher ed are among the sectors seeing continued rate hikes and limited capacity, according to CRC Group.

Property deals got done with rate uplifts, private placements and buyers leveraging profitable long-tail lines deals, but many reinsurers were disappointed by the overall scale of improvement in property.

Casualty rate hikes moderate, though areas like wildfire liability remain difficult amid an ever-more litigious environment.

Price increases for high-hazard risks range between 15%-25%, down from +30% increases last year, while better performing classes are seeing 5%-10% rate increases.

The deal gives Dallas-based Scion underwriters primary and excess casualty risks, with a focus on trucking and transportation.