The study examined the combined costs for a policyholder covering workers' compensation, general liability and automobile liability, which accounts for about 90 percent of "total financial outlays" in insurance coverage for U.S. corporations.

The study found that on average U.S. employers spend $2.45 for insurance and other risk management solutions for every $1,000 in revenues to manage their casualty risks.

However, the costs varied dramatically according to the individual corporation's size. For companies with revenues of $200 million or less, their costs averaged $18.74. While the largest, with revenue above $10 billion, averaged $1.68 per $1,000 in revenue. The report breaks down the revenue categories into six different groups.

Workers' comp took up the bulk of expenditures at 62 cents of every dollar spent, with general liability costing 27 cents, followed by auto liability at 11 cents.

"Larger employers have been able to enjoy similar economies in each of the three areas of risk we examined," said Timothy Brady, a managing director in the Casualty Practice of Marsh in a statement.

Mr. Brady said larger firms, as a result, "generally enjoy a competitive advantage as respects the casualty insurance component of their overall cost of goods sold.

"However, there's no question that an organization's cost of risk might be more affected by how it manages its risk and is perceived by an insurer than by its size," he added.

"For example," Mr. Brady noted, "a small firm that effectively manages its exposures can have a lower cost of risk than a larger company with poor risk management."

The 79-page study also breaks the costs down among 23 industry classes.

At the high end was governmental, whose average casualty costs came in at $8.94 per $1,000 of revenue. Finance, covering banks, holding companies, real estate and others were the lowest at 59 cents.

Marsh said the data were compiled through Oct. 2002 and refined at the Jan. 1, 2003, insurance renewals.

The report reviews market conditions and reviews in detail the insurance expenses for the individual industry classes. It also gives advice on what corporations should be doing in the future to manage their insurance costs.

"While all of these approaches can be productive in terms of managing costs, organizations need to pinpoint what's driving their costs and invest in approaches that yield the best results," Mr. Brady noted.

For additional information and availability of the study contact Peggy Sherertz at (212) 345-3393.