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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
The soft property/casualty insurance market shows no signs of change as commercial lines renewal pricing declined an average of 5.4% in the fourth quarter on top of a 5.2% decline in the third quarter, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.
“We didn’t see any strong resolve by insurers to hold the line on pricing last quarter,” Ken A. Crerar, president of the Washington-based council, said in a statement. “The fundamentals don’t add up, but competition still rules the day.
Buyers still have opportunities to get more coverage at competitive prices.”
The CIAB’s “Commercial P/C Market Index” showed the rate of decline for commercial renewal pricing for small, medium and large business accounts remained roughly the same in the fourth quarter as in the third quarter.
The group had some positive news, saying demand for insurance appears to be picking up. Some 47% of brokers participating in the survey said they saw an increase in demand during the fourth quarter of last year, up from 34% in the third quarter of 2010 and only 24% in the fourth quarter of 2009.