CIAB Survey Sees Prices Moderating

Forty-four percent of small accounts, defined as commission and fees of less than $25,000, saw increases between 1 and 10 percent. Forty-eight percent of medium-size accounts, commission and fees from $25,000 to $100,000, were in this range, and 41 percent of large accounts, over $100,000 in commission and fees, fell in the 1-to-10 percent range.

Combining the three account sizes and averaging the percentage, 19 percent of clients experienced increases between 10 and 30 percent. Nearly 10 percent of clients saw decreases between 1 and 10 percent.

"Although it is not surprising that rates are softening somewhat, there are a number of factors still present in the marketplace that make it unlikely that we will be seeing any rapid decline or a retreat to soft market conditions in the near future," said Ken A. Crerar, president of CIAB in a statement.

According to the survey, commercial property is experiencing some softening, with 24 percent of accounts seeing decreases of 1-to-10 percent and 8 percent reporting decreases between 10 and 30 percent. Twenty-six percent of accounts saw no change, while 28 percent saw increases in the 1-to-10 percent range.

Directors and officers coverage was the hardest of the 13 lines published in the survey, with 22 percent of renewals seeing increases between 1 and 10 percent and 50 percent of renewals with increases between 10 and 30 percent. Commercial auto and umbrella also remained on the increase, with 71 percent of accounts experiencing increases in the 1-to-30 percent range.

The complete survey is available through the CIAB Web site at www.ciab.com under Council News.