Premium Growth, Underwriting Return and Segment Analysis

Abstract

Many property and casualty insurance companies vigorously pursue insurance premium growth. However, such growth is fraught with both growth risk and underwriting risk, which can evolve into regulatory risk if it is not carefully managed. There is currently no measure available at the business unit level to assess property and casualty segment opportunities in the face of these risks. This paper presents one that does so; underwriting return is a practical measure that property and casualty executives can use at the business unit level to help identify market segments to grow, hold, harvest and withdraw from.

Keywords: Insurance, segment analysis, growth

JEL Classification: G11, G22, L10