Marsh says second-quarter rates in the U.S. are up but smalldrops in rates outside the U.S., on average,declined.

Across all lines of business during the last quarter, rates onrenewals increased 1.6 percent in the U.S., with the largest hikesin professional liability and financial institution liabilitylines, which on average renewed at flat-10 percent.

During the first quarter in the U.S., most major insurance linessaw increases of between 2 percent and 4 percent, while ratesdecreased an average of about 1 percent outside the U.S., says Marsh in its Global Insurance Market QuarterlyBriefing.

D&O renewals renewed flat to up to 8 percent more during thesecond quarter. Marsh says merger-objection litigation andregulatory investigations—of corporations andexecutives—contributed to rate pressures for D&O liabilityinsurance, but competition stabilized increases compared to thefirst quarter. About 62 percent of clients saw second-quarterD&O rate increases. Some D&O insurers have initiatedseparate M&A retentions in the $1-2 million range.

Marsh says competition is increasing in the U.S. propertyinsurance market, but property owners still paid more forinsurance. Renewals for 52 percent of clients went up during the secondquarter, down from 55 percent during the first quarter. “Insureds in the Northeastthat had not yet renewed their property insurance programs sinceSuperstorm Sandy faced greater scrutiny, particularly arounddeductibles and other coverage terms,” Marsh observes.

“Despite rate increases in several lines of business in theU.S., insurers are competing aggressively for profitable business,and the market continues to experience an influx of new capacity,”says Dean Klisura, Marsh’s US Risk Practices and Specialtiesleader, in a statement. “All of this is resulting in generallyfavorable market conditions for most clients.”

Outside the U.S., clients benefitted from a drop in rates ofabout 1-3 percent. Last quarter rates decreased an average of about1 percent away from the U.S.

Financial institutions in parts of the Eurozone saw liabilityrate increases during the second quarter, with rates up on averagebetween 10-20 percent in Italy, for instance, says Marsh. Ratestypically renewed flat to up 10% in France and Spain.

Looking at international property rates, March says rates incountries that have experienced major losses in recent years havestabilized or are declining, but remain higher than before thelarge losses. In many regions new capacity has increaseddiversification and competition.