Survey reveals continuing slight gains in prices
Commercial insurance prices were again nearly flat during the second quarter of 2017, according to Willis Towers Watson’s most recent Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The survey compared prices charged on policies underwritten during the second quarter of 2017 to those charged for the same coverage during the same quarter in 2016. Price changes reported by carriers averaged less than 1% for the eighth consecutive quarter, following a moderating trend in price increases that began in the first quarter of 2013.
In general, price changes in the second quarter for many lines of business were fairly consistent with changes reported in the first quarter. Three lines indicated price decreases in the second quarter, workers compensation, property, and directors & officers liability.
The outlier in the results continues to be commercial auto, where meaningful price increases are again reported and appear to be accelerating somewhat. Price changes for most other lines fell in the low single digits. When comparing account sizes, price changes were slightly positive for small accounts and flat for mid-market and large accounts.
Through two quarters of 2017, preliminary data points to a modest deterioration in loss ratios of less than 1%, which comes on top of similar deterioration in 2016. This is driven by benign estimates of claim cost inflation for both of these periods.
| Title | File Type | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey 2017 Q2 | .2 MB |
