"This is not a crisis situation yet," said Ken Crerar, president of CIAB in a statement, " but the uncertainty and confusion our members find when trying to place certain lines are sure to contribute to an overall unsettled business environment."

"It's too early to tell whether this disruption is a short-term response to the trauma of Sept. 11 or a more permanent market condition," Mr. Crerar added.

CIAB said producers reported the most difficult underwriting and most significant rate hikes were in New York City and Washington D.C., where the terrorist attacks took place on Sept. 11.

Generally, terms and conditions have become tougher and deductibles are higher, the association said. Terrorism coverage is scarce and clients in many cases are doing without because the price is too high where available, CIAB said.

The survey of 140 members reports that members have seen no decreases in premium rates over last year. Only one percent of those surveyed said they saw no change.

The survey's report breaks responses down into small size firms ($25,000 or less in commissions and fees); medium (between $25,000 and $100,000 in commission and fees); and large firms (in excess of $100,000).

Combining the three groups together, and averaging the total, 56 percent of respondents said they saw rates go up between 10 and 30 percent over last year, and 30 percent said rates rose between 30 and 50 percent. Six percent of the respondents said rates rose between 50 and 100 percent. Less than one percent said they saw rates go up more than 100 percent.

When asked about seven lines of property-casualty and liability business the response was overwhelming that increases were seen across the board. Only one percent of respondents said they saw a decrease, and that was in commercial auto. Otherwise, the majority said they saw rates go up.

Some of the sharpest increases were seen for umbrella coverage, where 13 percent of the respondents said rates were up more than 100 percent over last year and 28 percent said rates were up between 50 to 100 percent.

Commercial property was next, with 26 percent saying rates rose 50 to 100 percent over last year and 66 percent reporting rates up between 10 and 50 percent. Five percent said rates were up more than 100 percent.

Nineteen percent of respondents said construction rose between 50 to 100 percent, and 63 percent said they saw rates up between 10 and 50 percent for that line.

Business interruption coverage saw increases of 10 to 50 percent among 78 percent of the respondents, while 9 percent reported premium increases of 9 percent.

Group medical mirrored the general increases of other accounts, reporting no decrease among the three sized firms over last year. Forty-nine percent of the firms reported increases of between 10 to 30 percent, while 17 percent said they saw rate increases of between 30 and 50 percent. Only 2 percent said rates were up between 50 and 100 percent. None reported increases of more than 100 percent.

A complete chart of the survey is available at www.ciab.com.