FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mason Power
GM - Advisen
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+1.917.348.3998 m
mpower@advisen.com
SECOND ADVISEN SURVEY SHOWS THAT BROKERS ARE MORE CONFIDENT THAN RISK MANAGERS IN FINANCIAL SECURITY OF AIG COMMERCIAL INSURANCE UNITS
HOWEVER 47% OF BROKERS BELIEVE AIG WILL HAVE TO SELL SOME UNITS; CONCERN EXPRESSED
New York. October 7, 2008 – Advisen Ltd., the leading provider of content, analytics, and technology to the global commercial insurance industry, today released a special report based on a survey of brokers following the American International Group (AIG) liquidity crisis. On the heels of a similar survey of risk managers, Advisen sought to measure brokers’ confidence in AIG after the $85 billion loan by the federal government. “Wary” was how the vast majority of brokers characterized the attitude of their clients towards the unfolding situation at AIG, but with only one respondent claiming that clients are “panicked”, most brokers of commercial insurance are confident in AIG after the federal loan and few are recommending clients switch from AIG.
The Advisen survey of risk managers found that about two thirds intend to get quotes from AIG’s competitors at policy renewal, but according to the broker survey, few buyers have yet given their broker firm instructions to replace AIG. Brokers also opined in survey results about the potential impact the insurance pricing cycle and the potential impact on their fee and brokerage income.
“Survey results show that brokers have communicated to policyholders that AIG’s insurance subsidiaries are secure,” said David K. Bradford, EVP and Chief Knowledge Officer of Advisen. “However, while brokers have been a force for calm in the marketplace, survey responses indicate that brokers don’t yet know how much diversification clients will seek, or whether this crisis will impact overall market pricing or brokerage income.”
This Special Report is based an exclusive survey conducted by Advisen from September 26th-30th with 611 respondents Almost 65 percent of respondents described themselves as “executive management.” Eleven percent classified themselves as “producer,” and a similar number as “marketer/broker.” Almost 20 percent of participants worked for one of the four largest brokers.
“In conversations with brokerage firm executives attending this week’s CIAB Insurance Leadership Forum the story lines are the same as when we surveyed brokers a week ago” said Thomas P. Ruggieri, CEO of Advisen from the conference in Las Vegas. “Execution risk of the asset sales has been cited as a common concern among brokers. They also worry about potential of breaking up the commercial P&C units. While brokers are watching ratings actions carefully, they are comfortable with the present security of AIG’s property & casualty subsidiaries.”
The eleven-page Advisen Special Report on the Broker survey results is available here:
https://www.advisen.com/downloads/BrokersSpeakOutonAIG.pdf.
Notes to editors:
Rights are granted for republication in part or in full. The author is available for further quotes or comments. Contact David Bradford on dbradford@advisen.com or +1.212.897.4776.
About Advisen
Advisen Ltd. equals success for insurance professionals, driving growth and profitability through the broadest platform of analytics and information services. Designed and evolved by risk and insurance experts, and used daily by more than 100,000 professionals, Advisen combines the industry’s deepest data sets with proprietary analytics and applications that drive the risk and insurance lifecycle. Advisen is headquartered in New York with offices in London. For more information, visit www.advisen.com or call 212.897.4800.