NU Online News Service, Oct. 20, 3:56 p.m. EDT
A survey by the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) revealed the soft market is "far from over" but premiums declined less during the third quarter.
"If insurers avoid large losses this hurricane season, which seems likely at this point, competition may pick up across all lines," said Dave Bradford, executive vice president of Advisen Ltd., which administered the survey. "There is still too much capacity chasing too little premium."
The biggest drop in average premium was 4 percent for directors and officers policies. Property insurance premiums declined 3 percent, and general liability and workers' compensation fell less than 1 percent, according to the survey.
Advisen said it predicts a longer soft market for commercial lines due to effects of the recession.
"Rates in some lines are back to where they were at the depths of the last soft market," said Robert Cartwright, RIMS board member and loss prevention manager for Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. "That might suggest that the market is poised for a turn, but competition is still intense."
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