Jay Fishman, the chief executive of Travelers Cos. spoke at a financial services conference for Goldman Sachs, and announced that the insurer had boosted their business insurance prices in October by 5.2 percent, and in November by 5.8 percent, which are the most significant increases that have been made in a number of years.
Travelers is known for painting a brighter image of prices than other insurance companies, and this latest announcement doesn’t appear to have changed that fact. However, at the same time, when the insurer said that it had successfully achieved third quarter price increases, it did rally the stocks for property & casualty. These most recent figures presented by Fishman have only demonstrated that the trend has managed to pick up.
According to Fishman, the main strategy at the moment is to “drive rate”. He said that at the bare minimum, it is an indication that all is well so far. Equally, though, it is beginning to look as though things are better than this minimalist possibility. He explained that “There is a sense of optimism building around this, and a notion that we can continue to drive this strategy successfully.”
Travelers’ data is the most recent indicator that the commercial insurance marketplace is strengthening after having suffered a number of years of falling prices. This is positive news for insurance companies offering property & casualty products, as well as their shareholders. At the same time, though, the businesses that need to purchase the coverage will be facing higher costs.
