Aviso Group CEO Travis Kemp shares his views on current renewal and broking trends in the Australian market;

What are premiums doing?

Across the board there is competitiveness back in the market with regards to premium rates, this due to greater available insurance capacity. London markets and Australian Agencies continue to drive an aggressive price strategy on quality Australian business particularly in Property (where there exists minimal natural catastrophe exposure) and Financial Lines. We certainly experienced signs of “price softening” in the SME/Package insurance market during June. Casualty premiums were relatively flat during Q2 however Worker to Worker exposures are challenging.

How are insurers’ response times?

There are still challenges in response times with the Australian market, important to allow appropriate time when presenting risks.

Is it still tough to find markets for some risks, or is this issue easing?

Most certainly there is a return of capacity to the market providing options for our clients. Those risks with identifiable Natural Catastrophe exposures remain challenging however on larger risks we are seeing greater activity from the Parametric markets to help fill that void. Financial Lines markets were aggressive in June and Casualty capacity options continue to develop. However as mentioned earlier Worker to Worker exposures remain an area of underwriter focus particularly pertaining to Construction Liability risks.

Any other issues, concerns or observations?

Greatest concern is the market maintaining a level of sensibility during this next period as it becomes more aggressive in obtaining market share. Sustainable options are important for our clients looking at longer term objectives for their risk and insurance programs.