Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

Most commercial insurance lines see rate increases in fourth quarter

Reprints
Most commercial insurance lines see rate increases in fourth quarter

U.S. commercial property/casualty insurance rates rose 2% on average in the fourth quarter of 2018, matching the average rate increase of the entire year, online insurance exchange MarketScout Corp. said Friday.

Commercial auto insurance lines saw the biggest rate increase in the fourth quarter at 7%, according to a MarketScout statement. After suffering significant losses, insurers have succeeded in pushing through rate increases on commercial auto business for several quarters.

Business interruption rates increased by 3% and commercial property insurance rates increased 2.5% in the quarter. All other lines tracked by MarketScout posted smaller increases, except for workers compensation, where rates fell 1.5%.

By industry class, transportation saw the steepest increase of 6%, according to MarketScout. Contractors saw increases of 2.5% in the fourth quarter, which is a slowdown from a 4% increase in the third quarter.

“Ample capacity remains in the commercial insurance market. Rates for all coverage classifications other than workers compensation are increasing at a controlled, slow pace,” MarketScout CEO Richard Kerr said in the statement. “Only transportation and commercial auto exposures are suffering large rate increases.”

Small accounts – those with up to $25,000 in premium – saw a 2.5% rate hike in the fourth quarter, as did large accounts – $250,001 to $1 million. Jumbo accounts – those with more than $1 million in premium – were up 2%, while medium accounts -- $25,001 to $250,000 – were up 1.5%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Next

  • Commercial insurance rates rise across most segments: Marsh

    Data from U.S.-based Marsh and McLennan Cos. Inc. showed that global commercial insurance rates increased on average more than one percentage point in the third quarter, Brink News reported. Financial and professional lines pricing increased on average 3.3% globally with rate increases in the United Kingdom for cyber and professional liability and in Australia for directors' and officers' liability. Pricing for property risks grew more than 3% globally while for casualty risks the rates declined nearly 2%. Casualty pricing increased 3% in Latin America and 5% in Australia on average.