U.S. property/casualty rates declined nearly 6% on average during the third quarter compared with a 5% drop during the second quarter, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers said Wednesday.
Rates for small, medium and large accounts all decreased as brokers nationwide reported soft market conditions, according to the CIAB's quarterly Commercial P/C Market Index Survey of Brokers.
Brokers surveyed noted the catastrophe market, particularly for coastal properties, and D&O for financial institutions as exceptions to the trend.
“Suppressed demand and appetite for business continued to drive competitive pricing in the market during the third quarter,” CIAB President Ken A. Crerar said in a statement. “It was still very much a buyer's market as carriers chased market share. A significant upward turn in pricing remains elusive for the foreseeable future.”
The Washington-based CIAB, an association for commercial insurance and employee benefit intermediaries, bases the quarterly survey on data from its members.
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