The soft market continues unabated, but at least it is showing some indication of stabilizing itself as a monthly composite barometer of rates held steady for a fourth month at minus-5 percent.
"It seems the market is stuck at minus-5 percent on a composite basis," said Richard Kerr, chief executive officer of Dallas-based MarketScout, an insurance exchange that produces a monthly report. "The rates by industry, coverage or account size change a bit each month, but generally all categories are staying in the same range of premium reductions."
The last time the barometer changed was back in October when the composite rate moved to minus-4 percent.
Mr. Kerr noted that general liability remains the "most aggressively priced coverage" at minus-6 percent, down from minus-5 percent in January. For December and November the rate sat at minus-6 percent.
Least aggressively priced were workers' compensation, professional liability and surety. These lines have held steady over the past four months at minus-1 percent.
On a month-to-month basis, account sizes did not move dramatically. Small accounts stood at minus-1 percent, while large accounts remained unchanged at minus-5 percent.
Medium and jumbo accounts saw a slight change of one percentage point, as medium-size accounts went from minus-5 percent in January to minus-4 percent. Jumbo accounts moved from minus-6 percent at the start of the year to minus-5 percent, where they had been for both December and November.
Mr. Kerr noted that energy accounts moved from minus-4 percent to minus-5 percent, making them more competitive. Energy stood at minus-2 percent for December and November. He said one insurer was primarily responsible for driving that market softer but did not reveal the name of the carrier.
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