What causes a market cycle and are we heading into a soft market in 2024?

What causes a market cycle and are we heading into a soft market in 2024?

Hard markets usually last around a maximum of three years and this latest one started in 2020.

This presentation, delivered by Alan Chandler one of the UK’s most popular presenters, looks at what causes market cycles in the insurance industry and what is likely to occur in 2024.

Alan correctly called the hard market in 2020, providing a presentation on the seven reasons why the market would harden. Rates have now got much higher; investment returns are now at very healthy levels and underwriting in the UK looks a lot better proposition than it did back in 2020. New entrants will be attracted to the market and existing players will look to expand capacity to take advantage of the current favourable investment conditions.

Rates will not crumble over night, but Alan predicts 2024 will see a change in demand and supply, where Insurers will have to start having to fight more for business, and there will need to be a change in the way insurers operate, which may result in home working underwriters actually answering the phone to brokers!

Alan will also explore how brokers and underwriters can be successful in a softening market. Brokers have a fiduciary duty, and this means insurers cannot ask brokers to be loyal without also providing genuine benefits at renewal for the policyholder.

Whilst many people will not want to see the hard market end, history tells us it will, and not mentioning it will not stop a soft market cycle starting. This presentation will equip you for the change in the market that is on its way.

Learning Objectives:

This presentation will enable delegates to understand:

• What is an insurance market cycle.
• What causes a market cycle change.
• Where the market is heading in 2024.
• How brokers and underwriters can best manage the changing market cycle.
• The brokers fiduciary duty in a softening market and why insurers cannot not expect blind loyalty from brokers.

About the speaker:

Alan is widely regarded as one of the most popular and respected insurance presenters in the world. He has taken thousands of people through to ACII qualification including many national prize winners, as well as delivering a vast array of technical presentations on Commercial and Personal lines insurances.

Alan's webinars have been viewed across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America and South America and his audience numbers last year were well over 100,000. He has devised and delivered training programmes for major insurers and brokers, including Zurich, Allianz, Aviva, Hiscox, NIG, Gallagher, Aon, Towergate, GRP, Aston Lark, James Hallam and Marsh.

Alan has undertaken operational management roles in three major global companies running underwriting, broking and claims functions. In order to fulfil a long-term ambition, he set up his own training company, something that he had always longed to do as he is passionate about training. A number of Alan’s pieces of work have been published internationally and he is regularly called upon to provide expert legal guidance on insurance matters.