Reinsurers to Take it on the Chin: Rates Likely to Fall 9% in January

The Jan. 1, 2010, reinsurance renewal is approaching fast, but a quiet year for catastrophe losses is causing the annual ritual to proceed slowly. Insurers and reinsurers are still dancing around an agreement on next year's rates, and an insider at a major reinsurance intermediary tells me that the process could extend well into January. Expect reinsurance rates to fall 9% for the property-catastrophe sector.