By Phil Zinkewicz T he professional liability market in the United States has become the darling of underwriters small and large. Moreover, it is also a line of business which is being looked at with great interest on the other side of the Atlantic. Recently, in an interview at his offices in London's financial center, Andrew F. Beazley, head of Beazley Furlonge Ltd., underwriting managers for a Lloyd's underwriting syndicate, said that, as the global economy continues to move from a manufacturing base to one that is more services oriented, worldwide insurance underwriters have begun to concentrate on products that address the services sector.
Professional liability falls into that last category.
Clients include accountants, architects, contractors, construction managers, engineers, environmental consultants and many others who give advice or perform a service for third parties. The syndicate takes a leading position on most classes of U.S. professional liability and is expanding in the U.K. and elsewhere in the world to meet specific client and industry sector needs. Simon Harrap, managing director for the Lloyd's broker Gibbs Hartley Cooper North America Ltd., expresses that concern in the strongest of terms. Consider that 18 months ago, there were very few carriers writing attorneys liability or directors and officers coverage. Today, there are so many players in the game that there is just too much capacity chasing after too little premium income.