Back in January, Brian Duperreault, president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, said the property and casualty industry was entering its “first 'invisible' hard market,” in which prices would begin to rise–but because of shrinking insurable exposures, little positive impact would be seen in top- and bottom line results.

Nearly a year later, insurers and their agents and brokers are still looking intently for the first visible signs of any market hardening, as premium rates kept falling for most buyers and lines of business.

A big part of the problem is we're stuck in the worst economic tailspin since the Great Depression. Companies are going bankrupt, closing facilities, scaling back production and laying off millions. That means less demand for standard insurance products such as property, liability and workers' compensation coverage.