Workers Comp Markets – Hard or Soft May Not Matter My brother asked me this question. Will the upcoming election affect the Workers Comp markets? He is a day trader of sorts. Writing articles for over 15 years means that I have covered this topic in the past. My opinion
Hard Workers Comp Markets – Two of the Reasons Not Discussed That Often The hard workers comp markets usually occur when the suppliers (carriers) cut the supply of insurance to (demand) employers. I have heard investment returns often discussed in many of the reinsurance webinars and articles – not so
Is A 2018 Soft Market For Workers Comp Here or Is It Something Else? A 2018 soft market began to show up in some of the data this year. In fact, over the last week I have been interviewed for articles on the current WC market conditions. Interesting enough, the
The 10 Ways The Fed May Cause Major Workers Comp Changes We could be on the verge of major workers comp changes. The Fed Head Janet Yellen and her Board just increased the Federal Bank lending rate by .25%. This may not be a jolt to the insurance markets –
New Workers Comp Hard Markets May Come From China The Workers Comp hard markets of old have almost a fairytale connotation. Many insurance workers and press may have only seen soft markets. Workers comp hard markets still exists today. It is sectional or just hardening for certain markets.financial
Top 10 Challenge Areas – The First Five The article on the Top 10 Challenges for Workers Compensation received a large amount of inter-buzz. Two readers suggested an expansion (better explanation) of my list. I will split the Top 10 into two articles. The first five of My Top
Workers Compensation Hard Market Preparation and Solutions Employers need to know how to prepare for a Workers Compensation hard market. China’s upcoming cash crunch may possibly never occur except there is an upcoming default by a major bank. I am not a financial doomsday prepper. However, in
The China Banking Crisis and Insurance Markets The China banking crisis that is supposed to arrive on January 31st may have an effect on US insurers. A few articles over the last three month warned of a possible money crunch in China. An article appeared in some of the
NCCI Says PEO’s Questionable NCCI says PEO’s questionable reputation. PEO’s (Professional Employer Organizations) have long received somewhat of a bad rap from many different sources. However, we have found them to be extremely helpful in aiding our clients in finding Workers Comp coverage in a difficult insurance market. PEO’s have
Reinsurance Market No Longer Soft The reinsurance/excess Insurance Market has started to change from a commodity marketplace. The excess insurance market is usually the bellwether for the rest of the marketplaces. Reinsurance/Excess Insurance is basically defined as a risk management technique. The employer will purchase this type of insurance to
Nasty Fiscal Cliff – Will Workers Comp Fall Off It? Will Workers Comp be affected if we all fall off that nasty fiscal cliff ? I think we first need to define what exactly is the fiscal cliff. According to the article from the link: “The now infamous phrase was coined
Hard Markets And LIBOR Scandal I was reading a great article on the LIBOR scandal that will likely make Madoff and the Wall Street scandals seem small at best. One of the main concerns that I hear floating around in conferences and among clients is the soft vs. hard market for
Workers Comp Is A Time Bomb A time bomb may go off soon in Workers Comp. The post title has hit the Workers Comp airwaves after the President of Liberty Mutual had made it at a recent presentation. I often do not necessarily agree with Liberty Mutual. However, in this
Voluntary Market Very Critical To Workers Compensation A voluntary market compares to free market version of workers compensation insurance. Most states set the Advisory Loss Costs. Carriers deviate from the Loss Cost rates by filing loss cost multipliers (LCM) A group of insurers in a competitive environment who underwrite coverage
Term Of The Day – Hard Market A Hard Market is the term used to designate the period after a Soft Market. It usually occurs after a wide-scale catastrophe that ends a soft market. During this time, standards for underwriting become more rigid, premiums rise as well as profits, and
Term Of The Day – Soft Market Part of a cycle, the term soft market describes the time when premiums are low, profits dwindle, and competition increases. As the number of claims increase, insurance carriers can no longer afford to lower premiums to increase volume. When this happens, the soft
Florida and California Hard Market Has the Hard market in Florida and California Started? One of the hallmarks of what I consider the start of a hard market is when one of the major players in the Workers Comp business pulls back on writing coverage. A few articles this week
Workers Comp Long Term Outlook – Good + Bad The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) had an optimistic outlook on the Workers Compensation market. However, the NCCI had recently adjusted its long term outlook for workers’ comp to cautionary. This may be the warning of a hard market. These
Workers Comp Insurance Markets Likely Hardening The Hardening of Insurance Markets occurred for Workers Comp recently. The old soft market is no longer with us. I was very surprised that it took this long for the market to harden. This includes Workers Comp insurance and all other insurance coverages. In
Current Economy May Spawn Hard Insurance Market The current economy may heavily affect the workers comp insurance markets. We have received this question very often from employers over the last three weeks. We have covered this recently. We thought it was best to cover it again. The Workers Comp market
Workers Comp Market – Hardening? How Will The Economy Affect The Workers Comp Market? This is one of my most debated topics lately. The opinion that I have is not very popular. I do not believe that there are any internal dynamics to the market becoming soft or hard. As
