Analysts See More P/C Insurer Loss Reserve Releases in 2013

By Susanne Sclafane | January 2, 2013

Analysts at two rating agencies, Fitch and Moody’s, believe property/casualty insurers’ prior-year loss reserve takedowns will continue to outpace reserve additions in 2013.
The analysts spoke about P/C industry reserving trends as they reviewed their year-end outlooks and 2013 forecasts with Claims Journal recently.
“We think accident years 2003-2008 are the gift that keeps on giving,” said Jasper Cooper, associate analyst for Moody’s U.S. Insurance team. “We expect companies will continue to release reserves for those years in 2013,” he says, noting that the only deficiencies in evidence are slight, and relate to accident years 2010 and 2011.
In the aggregate, for all accident years, reserve releases will continue, albeit smaller in 2013, he said.
http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2013/01/02/219923.htm