Competition affects UK property/casualty market

New York - The UK property and casualty insurance industry, which comprises personal, commercial and diversified lines, is suffering some of the severest underwriting conditions ever seen in the market as a result of overcapacity, rising investment markets and overly aggressive pricing, according to rating agency Moody's in its annual industry outlook published this week. One of industry's defining features and main weaknesses is said to be that most participants focus on market share and not on producing or maintaining underwriting profit. Predictions are that these practices may accelerate the consolidation process which has already been underway for several years. However, whether consolidation will help the industry is debatable as, to date, it has not led to better margins.