There appears to be no relief for insurers in the buyer's market for commercial property and casualty coverage, as excess capacity and falling demand have prompted average rate cuts to accelerate, the latest pricing surveys revealed.

Rates for the second quarter of 2010 declined 6.4 percent, compared to the previous month's drop of 5.3 percent, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers' “Commercial Property and Casualty Market Index Survey.”

Since the second quarter of 2009, rate declines have hovered around 5 percent, meaning that CIAB's latest survey results marked a departure downward.

“Excess capacity chasing market share in the commercial property and casualty marketplace has resulted in another quarter of declining renewal pricing,” CIAB noted in comments accompanying the survey.

“It's the same old story,” CIAB President Ken A. Crerar added in a statement. “Carriers continue to fight aggressively for new business as capacity flows into the market. It's like someone forgot to turn off the spigot. No one seems to know when the reservoir will dry up, but in the meantime, it's definitely a buyer's market.”

The survey of 160 respondents found that bigger buyers got better deals, as small accounts saw prices fall on average by only just over 3 percent, in line with the past four quarters. However, midsize accounts came in with a decline of 7 percent, a jump from the previous month's 5.7 percent.

Large accounts declined 8.9 percent compared to 7.4 percent over the previous three quarters.

The CIAB said that in anecdotal comments accompanying the survey, many respondents said capacity remains abundant and that it is beginning to affect terms and conditions in some cases.

In addition, only 26 percent of those surveyed said demand for coverage was up, about the same as it was in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the latest RIMS Benchmark Survey administered by Advisen Ltd. confirmed that abundant capacity and softening demand kept prices down for commercial buyers in the second quarter. Risk managers reported cuts in average renewal premiums of between 2.5- and 3.8 percent for property, general liability, directors and officers liability, and workers' compensation insurance, the survey found.

The soft market is still going strong, insurance capacity remains abundant in most lines, and as a result of the recession, demand for that capacity has fallen, according to Advisen Executive Vice President David K. Bradford.

“We had been hearing anecdotally in the marketplace that there was actually a little bit of acceleration in softening,” Mr. Bradford told NU. “The numbers bear that out to some degree, especially in property, which has been more or less flat for the last few quarters.”

Overall, he continued, “it's pretty much the same story we have been seeing. It's a soft market and it's not showing any signs of turning in the near future.”

But while risk managers are looking at another good year for purchasing insurance, “that could change with one big storm–it's predicted to be a pretty feisty year,” Mr. Bradford warned. “Barring that, it looks like it will be continued erosion in premiums for most of the year.”

“Forecasts for the 2010 hurricane season are ominous, and a Gulf Coast hurricane could be especially disastrous because of the oil spill,” Robert Cartwright, loss prevention manager for Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. and a member of the RIMS board of directors, added in a statement. “If catastrophe losses soak up enough capacity, prices could increase for all lines, not just property insurance.”

Mr. Bradford observed that softening goes across most lines of business. Indeed, according to the RIMS survey:

o Workers' comp saw the largest decrease in average renewal premium during the quarter, falling 3.8 percent.

o The average property premium was 3.5 percent lower.

o General liability dropped 2.5 percent.

o The average D&O premium, buoyed by rate increases in the financial institution sector in 2008 and 2009, fell throughout the first half of 2010, sliding 3.5 percent in the second quarter.

Special Reports /

Surveys Shows No Letup In Soft Commercial Market

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