A hint that the hull insurance market may have bottomed out and could see at least a modest hardening has emerged from a round table discussion with leading Lloyd’s of London underwriters organised by the Arthur J Gallagher broking group.

Premium has come down to a level where there is little room for further reductions and maybe to the point where the soft market of recent years may be about to change, according to Iain Henstridge, top hull underwriter at Amlin’s syndicate 2001.

“Ships