P/C insurance rate decline slows

Commercial property/casualty insurance rates dropped an average of 1% in June compared with those a year earlier, MarketScout reported Tuesday.

And while rates for most lines of coverage tracked by the Dallas-based electronic insurance exchange fell or remained flat, rates for commercial automobile coverage increased by 2% and employment practices liability insurance rose 1%. Commercial property and professional liability rates dropped the most at 2% each.

Once again, the larger the account, the greater the decline, with the largest accounts experiencing 3% drops and the smaller ones posting 1% drops.

By industry class, transportation posted a 1% increase, while manufacturing and habitational accounts enjoyed the largest decreases at 2%.

“Insurers are getting tired of cutting rates,” MarketScout CEO Richard Kerr said in a statement accompanying the report. “There are still pockets of competitive business; however, it is beginning to look like insurers are willing to maintain the rate reductions of the past few years and not cut rates even further.”