Brokers Say Prices Moderate
NU Online News Service, April 23, 12:54 p.m. EST?Commercial property-casualty prices are beginning to moderate and the insurance market is beginning to stabilize, according to a report released by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization's first-quarter 2003 Market Index survey found that while brokers are still seeing premium increases on accounts, the increases are not as dramatic as in the past.
For the three account categories surveyed (small, medium and large), 66 percent of the accounts saw premium increases of between 1 and 20 percent. Only 14 percent saw increases of between 20 to 30 percent. Larger increases were at three percent or less.
Breaking down the categories, 70 percent of medium-size accounts, with fees and commission of between $25,000 and $100,000, saw premium increases in the range between one and 20 percent. Of that percentage, 46 percent were on the high end of increases, between 10 and 20 percent.
Looking at small accounts, with fees and commissions of less than $25,000, 66 percent saw increases between one and 20 percent. When broken down further, 33 percent had increases between 1 and 10 percent. An equal percentage saw increases ranging between 10 and 20 percent.
Large accounts with more than $100,000 in fees and commissions saw 61 percent with increases in the 1 to 20 percent range. Of this figure, 42 percent saw increases in the 10 to 20 percent range, while 19 percent saw increases ranging between 1 and 10 percent.
Ken A. Crerar, president of CIAB, said the survey suggests that the market is beginning to stabilize, especially in the Northeast, where rates had increased the fastest.
Additional information is available at www.ciab.com.
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