Many factors and variables are driving the change in cycles. They include Available investment capital, investment returns, cash flow, claim losses- especially large CAT events, claim costs, underwriting standards, and most certainly reinsurance cost and availability. When several of these factors begin to align together, they trigger a change in the cycle. Over the past several months, we have started to see the cycle change to a hard market for property and casualty business lines. Every insurance company is having negotiations with their reinsurers and pricing is increasing like many other
product insurances that are subject to supply and demand. The cost is then passed on to the retail consumer, our policyholder.