Two senior international business executives have said they believe there is likely to be a softening of the market in 2014.

William Pollett, president and chief executive officer of Blue Capital Management Ltd, and Matthew Wilken, president of Argo Re, who made the statements, were taking part in a panel discussion called ‘The Big Picture: The (Re) Insurance Industry in 2014 and Beyond’, the first panel in the annual EY Global Insurance Outlook, at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on December 5, reported in an Ernst & Young Ltd press release.

It noted that panellists included April Galda, COO at Ariel Re, and Mark Wilcox, senior vice-president, chief accounting officer and corporate controller at RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority’s CEO Jeremy Cox gave the keynote address.

The press release continued: “A raft of EY Global and Bermuda executives provided insights, including Dave Hollander, global insurance advisory leader, and Pete Cangany, partner and Bermuda insurance sector leader.

“Mr Pollett and Mr Wilken were asked if they were seeing rates, as well as terms and conditions, holding,” it said, and quoted Mr Wilken’s response: “The rates will fall, that is a given. All in all there will be pressure on the rates and the terms and conditions are slipping.

“The reality is that we are in a softening market.”

Mr Pollett was quoted as saying: “We are heading into a market cycle where underwriters need to have the courage to say ‘no’ and walk away from business. There are some challenging times ahead.”

They believe the regulatory environment will get tougher and more costly and that there is a feeling that interest rates will rise next year, it said. “It is a tough time. It is time to be very careful and very disciplined, but to also be in a position to react opportunistically,” said Mr Pollett.

They also believe that Bermuda remains an optimal place in which to conduct business, Mr Wilken stating: “Bermuda is a very important, integral part of the global reinsurance space. We have been able to grow with the Bermuda Monetary Authority, which has led to flexibility, which is critical.”