Commercial insurance rate increases ease in first quarter: CIAB
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Price increases for commercial property/casualty risks continued to ease in the first quarter of 2014, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ quarterly Commercial P/C Market Index Survey, released Friday.
The survey found that on average, pricing for all size accounts rose at a rate of 1.5% during the first three months of this year, compared with 2.1% in the last quarter of 2013. But the smaller the account, the greater the increase, with small accounts reporting a 3% increase while large accounts reported a decrease of 0.1%.
“Last year was good to the carriers, which the survey numbers reflect,” said Ken A. Crerar, president and CEO of the council in a statement.
“Catastrophe losses were low, profitability rebounded as a result of higher premiums, and the economy greatly improved,” he said. “All of that, coupled with ample capacity and more competition in the reinsurance market, no doubt had a dampening effect on price increases.”
In its statement, the council said that the “exception to the first quarter good news for commercial buyers was workers’ compensation, which continued to be a tough line to write coast to coast.” The council said that in southern California, brokers reported tighter underwriting, while some insurers added territorial factors. It added that a Northeast broker noted that workers’ compensation capacity “continued to shrink.”
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