Commercial insurance prices continue to moderate for the first quarter

The price changes remain consistent with changes during the fourth quarter, 2015

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

Much like the previous quarter, the first quarter of 2016 posted modest commercial insurance price increases, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson.

The survey, entitled the Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS), found that the aggregate increases were less than 1%, continuing a three-year trend of slight increases.

Changes made in the first quarter for the prices of most business lines were more or less consistent with previous changes in the fourth quarter of 2015. Commercial auto insurance, in particular, posted the largest increase among the business lines.

Also of note is that workers compensation, commercial property, and directors and officers liability continue to post modest price decreases. Most of the other lines posted price changes in single digits.

Large and mid-market accounts, according to the survey, continued to see relatively flat increases, as small accounts moderated to levels consistent with these larger accounts.

“The overall results in the first quarter were generally flat and about what we expected,” said Willis Towers Watson’s Americas Property & Casualty Insurance practice director Sean McDermott. “Despite ample capacity, price increases, albeit small, are still holding as claim cost inflation remains modest. The one outlier, commercial auto, where poor claim results have driven meaningful price increases over the past three quarters, is the line where pricing corrections continue.”


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