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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Commercial property/casualty insurance pricing continues to decline overall, dropping 2.9% in the first quarter of this year, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers said Wednesday.
But the first-quarter decline compares with a 5.4% drop in pricing during the fourth quarter of last year, according to the “First Quarter Commercial P/C Market Index Survey” by the Washington-based CIAB.
While the rate of decline for renewal pricing for small- and medium-size accounts during the first quarter was roughly similar to the fourth quarter, large commercial accounts on average showed a slight uptick in pricing, the CIAB said.
Commercial property/casualty rates fell about 5.2% in the third quarter last year.
“It's too early to tell if the leveling off and modest price increases were a result of the fallout from the recent Japan disaster and other catastrophes earlier in the year, or if the market is reacting to broader market conditions,” CIAB President Ken A. Crerar said in a statement.
Most report no rate changes
For most lines, the biggest percentage of brokers, where the question was applicable, reported there had been no change in rates during the past three months compared with the fourth quarter.
The lines and the percentages reporting no change in rates included terrorism, 55%; business interruption, 45%; directors and officers liability, 37%; broker errors and omissions, flood insurance and marine, 33% each; employment practices, general liability and surety bonds, 32% each; construction risks, 28%; and medical malpractice and workers compensation, 23% each.
Lines for which the biggest percentage of brokers said there had been a 1% to 10% decline in rates were umbrella, 35%; commercial auto, 31%; and commercial property, 29%.
Copies of the survey are available at www.ciab.com.