Tough times

The insurance industry will see three or four more years of a hard market, according to Royal & Sunalliance (R&SA).

R&SA's commercial managing director, Duncan Boyle, said claims inflation would mean prices would need to keep rising if insurers were to see positive underwriting results. “People are now more inclined to claim and there are different types of claim coming though, such as stress claims and more complex property claims,” he said.

He added that a price war in the insurance market was unlikely to be on the cards in the near future.