The U.K. property/casualty insurance industry likely will see rate increases over the next 12 to 18 months, but those increases will not necessarily translate into improved insurer financial strength ratings, according to Moody\'s Investors Service Inc.
Most U.K. commercial lines insurers reported increases in rates in 2008, but the picture is not uniform across all lines, Moody\'s said in a report, "U.K. P&C Insurers to Benefit from Rising Premium Rates; Marginal Credit Ratings Impact Expected."
New York-based Moody\'s said that it "views the need for a meaningful rise in premium rates (for commercial business) as becoming increasingly pressing, particularly in light of weak investment returns and the generally longer-tail nature of commercial lines-oriented books of business, combined with similar levels of claims inflation to those witnessed in U.K. personal lines in recent years."
