A Soft Market? Not In N.Y. Say Some Agents
By Mark Ruquet and Daniel Hays
NU Online News Service, Dec. 10, 10:45 a.m. EST?Despite continuing reports that insurance prices are softening, a New York agents association survey has found premium prices continue to increase while coverage choices fail to improve for most lines of property-casualty insurance in the state.[@@]
The online survey findings, by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc., were unexpected, said the group's research director Tim Dodge.
"When results started coming in I was really surprised; I was expecting to see confirmation of what MarketScout [the online agent quote service] is reporting and I had seen elsewhere," he said.
Mr. Dodge said the poll asking for an online response "wasn't a scientific survey. It could be the ones not seeing price reductions are the only ones responding."
He said the IABNY plans on taking the survey every three months and he is interested in seeing how it develops.
Contrary to what the survey showed, he said, "I've heard anecdotally from members who told me they saw more competition in personal auto on Long Island." He said the survey did not ask what geographic part of the state respondents were from and promised "that's something I will correct in the later survey."
The DeWitt, N.Y-based IABNY survey, which drew responses from 156 member agents and brokers, found those in the survey reporting that most rates are continuing to climb.
Eighty-nine percent of the respondents said that homeowners rates are increasing and 40 percent said they're increasing significantly. Auto insurance rates also are increasing, according to the respondents. Rates for commercial insurance differ only slightly in comparison: 81 percent said rates are rising, while 4 percent said they're decreasing slightly.
Insurance companies also are making it more difficult for agents to write business with them by imposing more restrictions on new business, according to the survey.
Fifty-six percent of respondents said there are more restrictions on commercial lines, 41 percent said they see restrictions on personal auto, and 40 percent see restrictions on homeowners insurance.
The situation with difficult-to-place lines of coverage does not appear to be improving either.
Liability coverage for contractors continues to be a problem for agents and brokers. Forty percent of respondents said that it became more difficult to place coverage for contractors in the last three months, and 27 percent said that it was much more difficult.
A bare majority (52 percent) said that the workers' compensation insurance market has stabilized, while 43 percent said it has become more difficult to place.
One bright note is that insurance companies operating in New York do not appear to be exiting classes of business or lines of coverage in large numbers.
When asked whether personal auto companies are exiting specific classes, 80 percent of respondents said no. Seventy-three percent answered similarly regarding homeowners insurance, but only 41 percent of the respondents said carriers were not exiting commercial lines, while 54 percent said yes.
The survey was conducted Nov. 10-16 and represents only those respondents who chose to participate. A report of the findings is available online at www.ny.iiaa.org/technical/mktsurvey1104.pdf, or contact J.B. McCampbell at (800) 962-7950, ext. 216 or via e-mail at jmccampbell@iiabny.org or Tim Dodge at (800) 962-7950, ext. 229 or via e-mail at tdodge@iiabny.org
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