Speaking at the annual reinsurance meeting in Monte Carlo Mark Rouck Senior Director, Insurance, at rating firm Fitch said that analysts were now looking for a spread of risk from firms which have a marine and energy book, driven by the poor underwriting performance of the past.

“We would be looking for a degree of diversity not only in the marine and energy book but also across the underwriter’s operations in the current climate,” he said.

“There remains some real fears over the ability for the market to replenish capital in the case of a major industry loss and as such we would look to reflect an underwriter’s exposure to those areas with a high risk in classes which are catastrophe exposed in the individual company ratings.

“The market is aware that there is a move towards diversity of underwriting operations and we would like to see evidence that the underwriters have modelled to limit exposure to major loss in the marine and energy markets.”

Fitch has the global insurance and reinsurance market on a negative outlook and says the US non-life insurance sector lags behind the European non life insurance firms and global reinsurers in their ability to move to a stable rating in the coming two years.