In a statement, MarketScout's founder and Chief Executive Officer Richard Kerr said, "The trend toward rate moderation is continuing. Underwriters received a better net rate for each risk they wrote in March, but gross premiums probably decreased due to the impact of the current recession on almost all types of exposures, such as payrolls, gross receipts and property values."

He added, "The moderation in rate reductions will yield more premiums, but declining exposures will more than offset the improved rate."

On a month-to-month basis, of the 14 classes of business listed, eight classes remained unchanged. Businessowners package policies improved the most by 2 percentage points, going from negative 9 percent to negative 7 percent. General liability, fiduciary, and surety also improved by one percentage point.

Commercial property and directors and officers liability lost ground, each softening by one percentage point, with commercial property standing at negative 8 percent and D&O liability coming in at negative 5 percent.

Examining account size, all size accounts improved by one percent, with both small and medium accounts improving to negative 7 percent, and large and jumbo accounts improving to negative 8 percent.

Mr. Kerr warned the industry that "meeting premium growth projections will be a challenge in the current economic environment" and that insurers should "restate top line premium projections and focus on managing profitability."

Companies, he said, cannot expect to make up for premium reductions by writing new business because the reduced premium base could have a negative impact on the bottom line. He called it a "dangerous practice" in the current soft market.

Mr. Kerr advised that this year "is a time to carefully protect the balance sheet and wait to make an aggressive move when rates are actually headed up, which should be early 2010."