INTERVIEW: Beazley Still Cautious On Recession-Related Claims

23rd Jul 2010 08:18

By Rachael Gormley Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Specialist Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley PLC (BEZ.LN) is keeping a cautious outlook on recession-related claims on professional indemnity cover, Chief Executive Andrew Horton said Friday, despite recent falls in claims levels on some lines of business. "The view of some insurers seems to be that recession-related claims won't come through," Horton said, adding that this was leading to high levels of competition in some lines and lower insurance rates. "Our view is that it takes a bit longer to see if the professional indemnity claims are going to come." Horton said that levels of U.K. professional indemnity claims, such as claims on employment practice insurance, were still up on 2008 levels but have come down from their peak. In the U.S., claims on professional indemnity cover for lawyers have also been coming down in the past few months, he said. "We need a few more months before we can call this a trend," Horton added. -By Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 23, 2010 03:18 ET (07:18 GMT)