What Lies Behind Insurance And Financial Industry Trends

By Ed Hulse


Both the insurance and financial industry trends of the early twenty-first century were dramatically re-shaped by the global financial meltdown of 2008 to 2010. Not only did the international crisis lead to the demise of several esteemed institutions, but it shifted perceived notions of the success of Western capitalist ideals. All over the world governments implemented new plans of intervention, however this was tempered by an over-arching pragmatic ideal that removes regulation quickly based on the domestic status.

One of the big concerns of modern corporations is the issue of responsibility and accountability regarding social and environmental decisions. Ernst & Young have printed a white paper showing that in 2010, there was a rise in shareholder resolutions which specifically emphasized the environment or similar issues of company accountability. Last year saw 191 resolutions over the 150 in the previous year.

The evidence indicates investors are more concerned than ever before with being responsible to society and the environment. Many argue this is almost close to becoming an essential priority because resolutions focused on these issues have risen steadily over the past six years. ExxonMobil shareholders voted to make the company be far more open to public on its oil and natural gas extraction process.

Also the global economic situation changed the views of many corporations concerning unlimited and exponential expansion. There is now a greater focus on maintaining long-term growth and steady prosperity that can be resilient in changing economic climates. This is the new model replacing the strategy of hitting overly ambitious growth targets by any means necessary.

The evidence shows that the corporate world struggled to meet impossibly high projections that targeted growth in various market and regional economies. The new ideas of long term growth do however require leaders that are able to quell the desires of investors to observe instant profit in exchange for steady progress. They will need to identify what the new areas of growth are.

The string of natural disasters that have happened in early 2011 leads many analysts to predict insurance prices will rise to respond on the number of crises. Tragedies in New Zealand, Australia and Japan have ruined whole communities and boosted insurance claims.

Lloyds of London, the largest insurance market in the world, said the series of disasters such as earthquakes and floods were likely to firm up insurance rates as companies look to recoup their losses. Caitlin, one of the largest insurers operating in the market, said a broad rise in rates across the market would be expected due to the high number of catastrophe losses in the first quarter of 2011.