NU Online News Service, Feb. 6, 11:22 a.m.EST

The property and casualty industry's positive rate momentumcontinued into the New Year as rates crept up another 1 percent inJanuary, according to the online insurance exchangeMarketScout.

“The 1 percent composite increase in January matched theincrease for December 2011,” says Richard Kerr, chief executiveofficer of Dallas-based MarketScout. “Workers' compensation andcatastrophe-exposed property continued to exhibit the largestincreases with upward adjustments of plus-2 percent.”

By coverage class, all lines were up or flat, similar toDecember.

Business interruption, which was up 1 percent in December, wasup 2 percent last month. Umbrellas/excess and commercial auto wereboth flat in December and were up 1 percent in January.

Workers' comp still showed upward momentum in January, but notas much as in December. Rates were up 2 percent in January for thisline compared to 3 percent in the month prior.

By coverage class, there was little change. Small accounts,which were up 2 percent in December, rose 1 percent in January,while medium accounts, up 1 percent in December were up 2 percentin January.

Large accounts were unchanged up 1 percent, while jumbo accountsremained flat on a month to month basis.

The report follows the Council of Insurance Agents &Brokers' fourth quarter survey of its insurance broker members thatfound average premium rates increased close to 3 percent during thelast three months of 2011.

Responding to the MarketScout survey, Meyer Shields, a financialanalyst with Stifel Nicolaus says in an analyst's note, “We seeinsurers' deteriorating calendar-year results as the primarycatalyst for rate increases, and we expect these increases toaccelerate as favorable reserve development subsides.”