Another storm forming in Gulf-rates affected?

Another storm is forming in the Gulf as of this morning. So far this season, and last, we've been pretty lucky. Due to the lack of significant storms, and subsequent damage caused by them, the market has continued to soften. Currently the insurance industry is in the midst of a very soft market. In industry parlance, "soft market" refers to significantly decreasing insurance premiums. How long can we continue? Some in the industry are predicting a continuance of this trend for at least another year. Insurance companies, and reinsurance companies, those companies that provide the insurance for the standard insurance company, are flush with cash and are looking to gain market share. Traditionally this is done by decreasing premiums in order to write more business. We are currently deeply mired into this cycle. Besides the subprime mortgage issue raised in our previous post, a more obvious impact on premiums are the amount of claims and dollars paid out due to damage inflicted from major storms. As a consumer you have been lucky so far. How long will it last?

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