Commercial premiums rise an average 8.7%: CIAB
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Commercial property/casualty insurance premiums increased an average of 8.7% across all account sizes during fourth-quarter 2021, with prices increasing for all lines of business, including workers compensation, according to a report Monday from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.
It was the 17th consecutive quarter of premium increases, and cyber coverage saw a record increase of 34.3%.
Respondents to CIAB’s quarterly rate survey pointed to increased frequency and severity of cyber claims as well as the difficulty of quantifying cyber risk as reasons for the significant increases. The fourth quarter also saw the continuing trend of stricter underwriting requirements for cyber business, CIAB said.
They also mentioned that insurers were cutting cyber limits as well as imposing more restrictive terms and higher deductibles and sublimits for ransomware.
“Cyber continued to raise alarm bells across the industry,” Ken A. Crerar, president and CEO of CIAB, said in a statement with the report. “The increase in premiums for that line continued unabated in Q4 2021.”
Medium-sized accounts received the largest increase in the fourth quarter, 10.6%, followed closely by large accounts at 9.2% and more distantly by small accounts at 6.3%, according to report data.
The average increase in premiums across the five major lines of coverage – business interruption, commercial auto, commercial property, umbrella, and workers compensation – was 8.1% in the fourth quarter, the same as both the second and third quarters.
Other lines that saw double-digit premium rate increases were directors and officers liability at 13.0% and employment practices liability insurance at 10.8%.
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