Coming Soon - Articles & Analysis
December 8, 2007
In the near future, this section of our site will contain summaries of some of our research, commentary on issues affecting the industry, and analysis of industry trends.
Data-driven Insurance Research & Communications
Research Alternatives provides custom research and analysis for and about the P&C insurance industry.
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Coming soon: 2008 Nonstandard Auto Insurance Study
December 6, 2007
Release set for April 2008
Study Details
Date of Publication: April 2008
Region Covered: United States
Industry & Segment: P & C Insurance: Nonstandard Personal Auto:
Time Period: 2006-2007
Number of Pages: TBD
What Lies Ahead in the Personal Auto Insurance Market?
Financial results for the Property & Casualty insurance industry in 2006 & 2007 were among the best in the history of the business. The personal automobile insurance market made a strong contribution to the general prosperity. But in the second half of 2007, there were ominous signs of trouble. So what lies ahead for the personal automobile insurance market?
Things Happen On The Edges First.
The personal auto market is incredibly diverse. It’s always difficult to know what is going on. But the nonstandard auto market is often a leading indicator for the rest of the sector. When conditions are good, standard insurers cast a covetous eye toward nonstandard customers and competition heats up. But when the market starts to go sour, it often begins with the nonstandard risks.
Did strong results in the overall market lead to increased competition in the nonstandard sector in 2006 and 2007? Can trends in the nonstandard sector tell us anything about the depth of the softening market ahead?
Get beneath the surface
No hard data is readily available on performance within the nonstandard sector. But this study will help plug that gap. In our 2006 study of the nonstandard market (available here for free download), we analyzed results within a benchmark group of key nonstandard automobile insurance specialists. In this update, we look at 2006 & 2007 results and re-examine the trends and risks outlined in our earlier study.
Let us do the work for you
It has been a tumultuous couple of years for nonstandard auto insurers. Mergers and acquisitions transformed key players as investors and insurers placed a variety of short and long term bets. The 2008 Nonstandard Personal Automobile Insurance Study aggregates mountains of statutory data and presents the results of hundreds of hours of analysis. Its clear, concise, and accessible format provides valuable, cost-effective insight into this challenging market.
Here is a solid foundation for analysts looking to understand and monitor the continuing transformation of the nonstandard auto sector. And a crystal ball that may give a glimpse of what lies ahead for the rest of the personal automobile market.
Research Alternative’s 2008 Non-standard Automobile Insurance Study will be available for purchase as soon as final 2007 statutory data can be incorporated into the analysis.
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2006 Nonstandard Auto Insurance Study now available as free download
December 5, 2007
2006 Nonstandard Auto Insurance Study
Clear Insights From a Fuzzy Market
Study Details
Date of Publication: December 2006
Region Covered: United States
Industry & Segment: P & C Insurance: Nonstandard Personal Auto:
Time Period: 2004-2005
Number of Pages: 55
Nonstandard auto insurance (NSA) is a critical segment of the personal lines insurance marketplace. But in recent years, assessing trends in the segment has become an exercise in futility.
How large is the NSA segment? Is it growing or shrinking? Is it more or less profitable than the rest of the auto insurance industry? These are important questions with serious implications for hundreds of insurers.
But no one really knows the answers. Accurate segment-wide data on the nonstandard
auto market is simply unavailable, and anyone who claims otherwise is selling doubtful
merchandise.
This study helps bring a level of clarity to this increasingly fuzzy market segment. It uses published statutory data and other resources to provide a detailed analysis of growth and profitability among ten of the top specialists in the nonstandard auto market.
It will not give you hard and fast numbers on the entire NSA segment. No one can do that. But because the ten companies considered in the analysis write only nonstandard risks, it provides clear, clean insight into general trends in the market.
The study also provides an important benchmark for evaluating individual insurer results, and outlines what it takes to win in the NSA segment. It is important reading for anyone interested in understanding the nonstandard auto market.