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July 29: Deepwater Horizon explosion unsettles insurers but not a market changer -- Marsh     (Copyright Thompson’s World Insurance News)     The Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion is an important event in the history of deepwater drilling and exploration insurance but not a market changer.     In its latest Energy Market Monitor broker Marsh added the capacity currently is not an issue and insurers seem keen to maintain their commitment to the market.     "This is good news for the industry."     It compared this with the effect of Hurricane Katrina when the market experienced massive reductions in capacity and subsequent rate hikes.     While insurers have been unsettled by the Deepwater Horizon losses, capacity has not constricted and price increases are likely to be modest in other parts of the upstream energy market, unless more major losses occur.     Marsh Global Energy Practice chairman Jim Pierce said however: "The dramatic consequences of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, in terms of both loss of life and pollution, has undoubtedly changed sentiment among upstream energy underwriters.     "As a result of the incident, many firms involved in offshore activities are reviewing their current insurance programs and are seeking to top up their cover.     "Some insurers have been capitalizing on their clients concerns and have been hiking up their prices for higher limits and deepwater drilling wells regardless of where they are located."        Thompson’s World Insurance News P.O. Box 1027,  Waterloo, Ontario,  Canada  N2J 4S1 Tel: 519-579-2500 Fax: 519-745-7321 mpub@sympatico.ca THOMPSON’S WORLD INSURANCE NEWS , Canada’s only independent weekly for p&c insurance professionals, has been the industry’s most trusted news source since 1988.