U.S. commercial insurance prices showed minimal gains during the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest "Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey" (CLIPS) from Willis Towers Watson.
Analysts at the global advisory, broking and financial solutions company compared first-quarter (Q1) policy pricing this year to the same period last year. They found that year-over-year commercial policy prices changed less than 1% for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Exercised considerable discipline
“The commercial P&C insurance market has exercised considerable discipline as a whole over the past couple of years,” said Serhat Guven, Americas Property & Casualty sales practice leader, Willis Towers Watson. “Insurers have held the line on trading profitability for volume, while still responding as needed to emerging trends.”
CLIPS data are based on both new and renewal business, and represent a cross section of U.S. property & casualty insurers.
Price changes in the first quarter for most lines of business were fairly consistent. The following four commercial insurance lines indicated modest price decreases:
— Commercial property.
— Directors and officers.
— Surety.
The outlier in the results continues to be commercial auto, which has seen significant price increases.
Related: Auto insurance rose over 7 percent in January's consumer price index
For most other lines, price changes fell in the low single digits.
The graphic below from Willis Towers Watson illustrates findings in the firm’s "Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey," or CLIPS.
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