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“One event away from a hard market” says Willis CEO By Insurance blogger Kris Oldland It appears that somebody else has spotted some of those fabled green shoots as Tony Ursano CEO of Willis capital markets and advisory, a unit of Willis Group Holdings made bold predictions that their will be significant increase in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activity within the insurance industry as we move into 2010. With the soft market creating a greater need for growth, diversification and specialization as insurers fiercely fight for every competitive edge, Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions deals may soon prove to be a much more valid alternative than perhaps they have been, throughout what has been a year of consolidation at best for most of the industry. Citing key factors such as the increasing importance of the size and scale of companies for ratings agencies, investors and clients alike, Ursano sees the level of M&A activity increasing as financing capacity and terms begin to improve, more positive valuations increase confidence and markets begin to stabilize once again. A bold statement indeed, especially when we consider that throughout the current year we have seen the average price of M&A deals fall to just 1.09 times the book value. Continue reading →