New report details Q1 commercial insurance price changes
The CLIPS survey revealed modest but larger increases in commercial insurance prices in Q1 of 2018.
Commercial insurance prices increased modestly in the first quarter of 2018, a new report from Willis Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS) says.
The CLIPS survey compared policy prices written during the first quarter of 2018 with those charged for the same coverage during the equivalent quarter in 2017. Price increases exceeded 1% for the first time in 11 quarters, breaking the moderating trend in price increases observed since 2013, CLIPS reports.
Three standard lines saw the most significant price increases: commercial auto, commercial property and excess/umbrella liability. Experts report that the outlier in the survey findings continues to be commercial auto, with price increases nearing double digits for the second consecutive quarter.
In contrast to these and all other surveyed lines, workers’ compensation continued to see price reductions.
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Pierre Laurin, Americas Property & Casualty (P&C) sales and practice leader for Insurance Consulting and Technology at Willis Towers Watson, says commercial insurance prices trended upward across nearly all lines during the first quarter of 2018, with aggregate price changes crossing the 1% threshold for the first time in almost three years.
“Workers’ compensation was the only line showing a downward price trend, as claims frequency declines and workplace safety continues to improve,” he adds.
CLIPS looks at historical changes in commercial P&C prices and claim cost inflation, using data based on both new and renewal business figures obtained directly from carriers underwriting the business. For more analysis on commercial P&C trends, outlook and rate predictions, reference Willis Towers Watson’s Marketplace Realities series.
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