May 2004/4

There is growing evidence that the hard market is at an end, with downward pressures on both pricing and terms according to brokers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Germany’s Hannover Re announced a “vigorous surge in profitability” today, despite a year-on-year fall in gross premiums of more than 20 percent. The reinsurer says it remains on track to beat its 2003 result.