An insurer's perspective - Spiralling out of control

Despite the best intentions of brokers and some insurers to talk about 'managing the underwriting cycle' and 'sensible underwriting practice', client expectations are that premiums will continue to reduce says Mark Cliff

As an industry, we have taken customers to the point where they expect the unexpected and, often, a price-based proposition.

Much of this is fuelled by what they read in the press and the adverts that they see on TV promising huge savings and discounts 'if they just dial this number'. For the broker though, the result is that income per client is likely to be reducing - not good news for a market which is already increasingly competitive and in which broker costs are not reducing.

However, what