Directors and officers, workers’ compensation and general liability average premiums drop; Average property premiums rise
NEW YORK, N.Y., October 2, 2007 — Steady erosion of commercial insurance industry pricing continued during the third quarter of 2007, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, the industry’s leading comprehensive survey of current policy renewal prices as reported by corporate risk managers.
As has been the case in recent quarters, only property insurance showed an increase in the average renewal premium, which was driven substantially by companies in earthquake-exposed regions. Average property premiums rose 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2007. Once again, directors and officers liability (D&O) posted the largest decrease at 3.9 percent, while average general liability premiums decreased by 3.2 percent. Workers’ compensation averages, while still falling, are decreasing at a slower rate; they experienced a drop of 1.5 percent during the third quarter, due most likely to the impact of reform measures in several large states, according to an Advisen analysis. These reform measures had previously driven premiums sharply lower but have now worked their way through the system.
“For the most part, pricing trends continue to be very positive for commercial buyers,” says John R. Phelps, ARM, CPCU, member of RIMS Board of Directors and director of business risk solutions for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. “All indicators point to further improvements in the fourth quarter, barring a major catastrophe.”
“The soft market is driven by rapidly increasing policyholders’ surplus, which equates to insurance capacity,” says David Bradford, editor-in-chief of Advisen. “Underwriting profits and strong investment returns continue to add to surplus, which suggest that this soft market has a long way to go before it reaches bottom.”
About the RIMS Benchmark Survey™
The RIMS Benchmark Survey™ is produced by Advisen, Ltd., which collects and analyzes the data and provides the technology infrastructure for the survey’s online services. Advisen introduced the Data Participation Letter that enables risk managers and buyers of insurance to contribute to the RIMS Benchmark Survey™ by designating their broker to provide the client’s program details. The letter is available at www.RIMS.org/brokerform or by calling (800) 655-6590. Risk management professionals can also contribute by e-mailing current and prior year policy schedules to [email protected] or faxing it to (212) 655-7453.
Risk managers who contribute data to the survey can benchmark the structure of their commercial insurance programs, retained loss costs, exposure demographics and Total Cost of Risk (TCOR) against a highly-relevant group of peer companies. Additionally, survey respondents can use software personalized and configured to their needs to view detailed schedules of insurance, programs for current and past years, and full-color program tower charts. Both benchmark charts and program charts download into any presentation for senior management. The results of the RIMS Benchmark Survey™ are available online or in an annually-published book. Visit www.RIMS.org/benchmark for details.
About the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management, a professional discipline that protects physical, financial and human resources. Founded in 1950, RIMS represents nearly 4,000 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable, and governmental entities. The Society serves more than 10,500 risk management professionals around the world. For more information, visit www.RIMS.org.
About Advisen
Advisen Ltd. equals success for insurance professionals, driving growth and profitability through the broadest platform of analytics and information services. Designed and evolved by risk and insurance experts, and used daily by more than 100,000 professionals, Advisen combines the industry’s deepest data sets with proprietary analytics and applications that drive the risk and insurance lifecycle. Advisen is headquartered in New York with offices in London. For more information, visit www.advisen.com or call (212) 897-4800.
Tags: Advisen, benchmarking, Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
