Commercial insurance prices in the U.S. were again nearly flat during the third quarter of 2017, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS).
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The survey compared prices charged on policies written during the third quarter of 2017 with those charged for he same coverage during the equivalent quarter in 2016.
Price changes reported by carriers averaged less than 1% for the ninth consecutive quarter, following a moderating trend in price increases that began in the first quarter of 2013.
Price changes in the third quarter for most lines of business were fairly consistent with changes reported in the second quarter.
Improvement from last quarter in loss ratios
“Through three quarters of 2017, preliminary data indicate little movement in P&C commercial insurers’ loss ratios (excluding the impact of catastrophes) — an improvement from last quarter — as insurers revised downward their earlier initial estimates of claim cost inflation,” said Pierre Laurin, Americas Property & Casualty sales and practice leader for Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson.
Data for workers compensation and directors and officer’s liability indicated modest price decreases, while commercial property prices moved towards moderation with only a slight decrease.
Commercial auto continues to be outlier
The outlier in the survey results continues to be commercial auto, where meaningful price increases were again reported and have been accelerating. For most other lines, price changes fell in the low single digits. Price changes were positive for small account sizes and fairly flat for mid-market and large accounts.
Related: Commercial auto insurance market update: Rough road to profitability
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