Survey: Transportation Rates Continue To Flatten

NU Online News Service, May 26, 11:01 a.m. EDT

Rates in the transportation insurance segment continued to level off through the 2009 first quarter, even as the number of new entrants increased, according to a new survey.

That finding came from a poll by Woodbridge, N.J.-based NIP Group, a specialty brokerage.

The firm said the trend toward rate flattening and even modest increases was most noticeable in small accounts (those with premiums of $75,000 or less) and medium-sized accounts (those with premiums between $75,000 and $250,000).

NIP's Transportation Insurance Survey found that while rate flattening had been seen in these types of accounts in its 2008 fourth-quarter survey, this trend is also beginning to be seen in large accounts with premiums of more than $250,000.

Interestingly, as rates are flattening, the survey indicated that new entrants in transportation market segments increased in the first quarter, which traditionally puts downward pressure on rates.

According to one respondent, "Traditionally conservative carriers are chasing premium as they find themselves competing against new players and purchasing groups."

Even so, NIP Group found just 29 percent of the total survey population thought rates for any one transportation coverage type were decreasing by at least 10 percent. Conversely, 47 percent of participants said rates were flat or increasing for the different coverage types.

Respondents said trucking, intermodal, specialized carriers and riggers, charter/tour and school bus risks have continued recent trends of flattening rates in the first quarter.

The bulk transportation and airport ground segments yielded mixed results, with some respondents citing rate increases and others citing decreases. NIP Group said this disparity shows the volatility of the market, and could also have been driven by other factors such as account size and coverages.