Following months of rates stuck firmly in a soft market mud,MarketScout reports the overall composite rate for U.S. propertyand casualty commercial insurance policies measured minus-4 percentin March after four consecutive months of minus-5 percent.

“We have finally broken out ofthe doldrums,” says Richard Kerr, CEO of Dallas-based MarketScout,an insurance distribution and underwriting company. “Rates aremoving up.”

He adds, “Workers' compensation, property,business-interruption, small commercial, general-liability and autorates adjusted in March.”

Kerr says workers' comp rate increases are underway in somestates, as one major insurer abandoned the line, and anotherstopped writing new business in five states while adopting morestringent guidelines for renewals in 10 states.

The composite rate for all U.S. property is down 4 percent, ascatastrophe-exposed property risks are receiving rate increases of2-5 percent, Kerr says.

“After the Japan earthquake and RMS 11 [hurricane modelrevisions by Risk Management Solutions], there has beenconsiderable speculation about property rates,” he notes.

Some trends were maintained in March. Kerr says the larger thepremium of an account, the more aggressive was pricing. The ratefor small accounts was minus-1 percent, while large accounts of$250,000 or more saw rate reductions of 5 percent. Each wereconsistent with results from the month prior.