U.S. insurance rates continue to rise: Marsh study
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Rates for most major U.S. commercial insurance lines rose 2% to 4% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with a year earlier, according to Marsh Inc.'s Global Market Quarterly briefing released Wednesday.
The U.S. increases follow a trend of rising prices that has been evident over the past 18 months, according to Marsh.
But the market remains favorable for policyholders, said Dean Klisura, Marsh's U.S. risk practices and specialties leader, in a statement.
“While rates continue to rise, insurers have a healthy appetite for business and this is making conditions progressively more favorable for insurance buyers,” he said. “Underlying this trend are both strong capacity and increased interest from many global insurers.”
Outside the United States, rates dropped an average of 1% but the U.S. increases resulted in a slight uptick in average global rates, Marsh found.
Globally, “rates renewed with an increase of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013, following an increase of 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2012,” said Marsh.
Global property rates declined on renewal during the quarter by 0.2% on average and casualty rates increased 0.7%, Marsh said.
Financial and professional lines increased by 0.8% on average in the quarter, with financial institutions in the eurozone paying higher increases for liability coverages. Rates generally declined in other major classes of business.
“Underlying these market conditions are very strong capacity and increased support for business among some global insurers for both catastrophe- and noncatastrophe-exposed property risks,” the report stated.
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