Property rates favor buyers amid light losses; cyber an exception
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Rates in various lines and geographies varied widely amid an overall 4.8% decline in third-quarter commercial insurance rates, according to Marsh L.L.C.
Rates at renewal dropped 7.5% or more, for example, across financial and professional lines in the United Kingdom and property lines in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the report, Global Insurance Market Quarterly Briefing, released last week.
Conversely, rates for financial and professional lines were flat to 2.5% higher in the United States and Latin America/Caribbean, according to the report. Property rates in the U.K. and Continental Europe, meanwhile, decreased 5.0% to 7.5%.
Casualty rates were flat to up 2.5% in the United States, Latin America/Caribbean and Continental Europe. The U.K. and the Asia-Pacific region saw larger casualty rate declines of 2.5% to 5.0%.
Property rates posted the greatest decline, dropping more than 5% globally, with Asia-Pacific seeing the largest drops of 7.5% or more while other regions saw declines in the 5.0% to 7.5% range.
“Without the near-term catalyst that larger wind or earthquake events have historically provided, the property rate environment continues to be competitive with most accounts typically seeing rate decreases at renewal,” Nick Holmes, Marsh's head of placement for Continental Europe, said in the report
The lone outlier was cyber coverage, where rate increases averaged more than 15% in the U.S., while average cyber insurance limits exceeded $20 million for the first time, according to the report.
“Organizations that understand the nature of potential threats and their exposure to cyber attacks will be best suited to develop a comprehensive risk management strategy to counter them,” Paul Denny, Marsh's Northeast U.S. financial and professional liability leader and U.S. errors and omissions leader, said in a statement.
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Global commercial rates down 4.8% in third quarter
Third-quarter commercial insurance rates declined 4.8% on a global composite basis according to Marsh L.L.C. Global Insurance Market Quarterly Briefing, released Tuesday.
