Major figures of the insurance industry consider that Washington’s continuous dispute and fight around government budget will have negative influence on the U.S. economy. According to the report of Insurance Information Institute 95% executives in the property / casualty industry believe in it. Plus 74% of them suppose that federal government will increase its supervision of insurance industry in the near future. And only 23% of executives think the U.S. economy today is «on the right track».
As the economy continues its recovery, exposures will continue to grow, implying further increases in insurance premium volume,
said Dr. Steven Weisbart, senior vice president and chief economist.The leaders were asked about interest rates, whether they rise or fall. 62% respondents said that interest rates will remain as before and 38% consider that they will grow. But none of the of industry leaders expects rates to tumble.
There was one more interesting fact for insurance audience at this forum. Famous CEO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President - Thomas J. Donohue said that energy was a great opportunity for rising economy and also energy could be the major factor to cut down the budget deficit. The CEO added that energy was a key to increase work places. What U.S. government should do? Donohue considers that U.S. could find «guys» who have a lot of energy than someone else. If government fears environmentalists, it’s possible to use «clean energy».
That’s where the cash is
, - concluded J. Donohue. As to capital investment, many respondents think that equity markets will «up» in 2013. And there was another important question, the question about combined ratio. Combined ratio is a percentage of every investment dollars insurance company spends on claims and expenses. By contrast with 2012, 62% of executives think that combined ratio will be lower in this year.
The 17th annual Insurance Joint Industry Forum included almost 250 executives from insurance companies and organizations. The Forum is a platform for discussion of general topics and possibility to understand how industry will be change this year.