In the not-too-distant past, we were in a sustained soft market that seemed impervious to historic property and casualty losses, making many of us question whether the hard/ soft market cycle might be a thing of the past. Then eye- popping rate increases and the disappearance of capacity struck like some weather- borne natural catastrophe on climate change steroids. The market had indeed turned. Now, with higher rates attracting new entrants and coaxing some capacity to come off the sidelines, increases are beginning to decelerate, or at least stop climbing. It’s still a hard market, but to a large degree, the cycle is — or will soon be — proven again.
