OREANDA-NEWS. In this A.M.BestTV episode, insurance professionals at the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) annual conference in Atlanta, GA, said the surplus lines sector will continue to grow by evolving their business models and developing new coverages.

Just over 4,000 surplus lines underwriters and brokers are in attendance at the conference, which is a new record, said Brady Kelley; executive director of NAPSLO. Attendees discussed current market trends and opportunities.

“The marketplace in the last year continues to grow; although, at a slower rate than the previous year,” said David Blades, senior industry research analyst, A.M. Best. “However, there is still growing interest in the surplus line and specialty market businesses. Capacity is good, and it is definitely a strong market. A.M. Best is expecting this progress to continue through the remainder of this year and into 2017.”

Bruce Kessler, senior vice president, Chubb Group and division president, Westchester, spoke about one of the main topics at this year’s conference, cyber risk.

“Cyber risk is a big product in the industry today,” said Kessler. “The industry has a pretty broad offering in cyber space, and with that in mind, we are trying to get first-time buyers to understand where they have risks, as well as trying to get them to close deals.”