RIMS Survey Says Fiduciary Liability Retention Rates Up as Much as 500 Percent; Directors and Officers Liability Also Experiencing Triple Digit Increases; Policy Counts Leveling, Suggesting Greater Ease in Placing Policies
New York, July 30, 2003 – The cost of fiduciary liability insurance which includes coverage for trustees of pension funds and trusts, as well as coverage for directors and officers of corporations, continues to skyrocket, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, an industry survey of commercial insurance market conditions released today. The survey also indicates that the number of policies required by risk managers to meet some insurance needs is not changing and the cost of property insurance also seems to be leveling. The market conditions are summarized by Advisen Ltd. for the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS).
“The increase in fiduciary liability costs is startling, even in this hard market,” said Christopher Mandel, RIMS Vice President Chief Risk Officer and Secretary. “With the spate of lawsuits against these trustees, the resulting effect on insurance prices is understandable, but this increase is dramatic. However, the slight increase in policy counts may be a light at the end of the tunnel for risk managers.”
Advisen, a provider of specialized information, analytic and benchmarking tools for insurance professionals, analyzes the survey results continuously, offering a dynamic and virtually real-time window into the current purchase patterns in the commercial insurance markets. The results represent data compiled from over 750 corporations to date.
“In the past, risk managers had limited visibility into changing market conditions, but with the ability to capture information in real-time, the RIMS Benchmark Survey is providing increased insight and value to risk managers,” said Thomas P. Ruggieri, CEO of Advisen. “This kind of on demand information for the insurance industry represents a shift in how professionals interpret and react to market conditions.”
Ruggieri went on to note, “as insurers try to mitigate the risk of lawsuits against pension fund trustees whose portfolio values have been ravaged by under funding, questionable loans to sponsor organizations, corporate scandal, bankruptcy and an anemic economy, the fear of a tidal wave of litigation, similar to the trend in securities litigation, is driving up premiums for this line of insurance coverage by as much as 150 percent.” The policy data produced by the Survey also indicates that fiduciary liability retentions have increased by as much as 500 percent since 2002.
Directors and officers liability insurance also continue to rise, with premiums up over 200 percent against last year. The survey data shows that D&O premiums continue to show extraordinary increases for the third straight year.
But the number of policy counts, which reflects the number of policies required to complete a desired level of insurance coverage, rose only slightly. That small increase suggests that even though the costs of these policies are increasing, the supply may be catching up to demand, creating greater equilibrium in the market compared to previous quarters.
But the number of policy counts, which reflects the number of policies required to complete a desired level of insurance coverage, rose only slightly. That small increase suggests that even though the costs of these policies are increasing, the supply may be catching up to demand, creating greater equilibrium in the market compared to previous quarters.
Participants who contribute data to the Survey can utilize “Chart-Your-Program” software to create charts and schedules of insurance programs and interactively compare their data with prior years’ survey data. Additionally, participants can use interactive benchmarking tools to compare costs and programs against continuously updated marketplace data.
The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management, a professional discipline that protects physical, financial and human resources. Founded in 1950, RIMS represents nearly 4,000 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable, and governmental entities. The Society serves 8,000 risk management professionals around the world.
Advisen Ltd. offers strategic information services to the global commercial insurance industry, combining comprehensive market data with proprietary analytic and benchmark modeling software. Advisen serves the world’s leading insurance companies, brokers and risk managers by providing a systematic perspective on writing, marketing and purchasing lines of commercial insurance.
