Commercial property/casualty insurance prices are expected to increase 3% in early 2013 from the same period a year ago, according to a new survey of risk managers, though a growing number of those buyers are characterizing the property/casualty market as stable.

The most recent six-month survey from Barclays Capital Inc. showed that commercial property prices are expected to rise 3% — down from 4% six months ago — while casualty prices are expected to increase 3% — up from 2% in http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20120710/NEWS06/120719977 the last survey.

In the current survey, approximately 83% of risk managers anticipated price increases in their property/casualty programs, with 17% expecting flat renewals and none expecting price decreases. In Barclays' survey six months ago 9% expected rate decreases in their property/casualty programs, 15% expected flat renewals and 76% expected price increases.

Asked about terms and conditions, 89% of respondents in the current survey said they expect policy terms and conditions to be stable compared with a year ago.

The percentage of risk managers reporting more favorable policy terms for buyers declined to 1% from 5% in Barclays' survey six months ago, while 9% of the risk managers surveyed said terms and conditions tightened compared with 7% six months ago.

The survey suggested insurers' lack of interest in offering multiyear deals, with five respondents out of the 75 surveyed reporting they'd renewed a multiyear deal, up from two in the mid-2012 survey.

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Of the risk managers surveyed, 96% characterized the property/casualty market as stable, up from 77% six months ago. Only 3% characterized the overall commercial property/casualty market as hard, down from 23% in the survey six months ago.

The survey showed most risk managers — approximately 75% — expect their broker fees to be the same in 2013 compared with 2012. Eighteen percent expect higher fees, up from 12% in the survey six months ago, and 7% indicated they could negotiate a lower fee, up from 5% in the midyear 2012 survey.

Barclays' proprietary semi-annual Commercial P&C Insurance Buyers' Survey was based on interviews with 75 risk managers in the U.S. and Canada, most of them representing large national accounts.