Commercial Insurance Renewal Rate Experience Varied by Line in April

Most commercial insurance lines saw year-over-year premium renewal rate increases in April, though umbrella and workers compensation saw premium renewal rates decrease during the month, according to the Ivans Index, a regular premium renewal rate index compiled by the Ivans insurance exchange service.

Commercial auto, businessowners policy (BOP), general liability, and commercial property all experienced year-over-year increases in average premium renewal rates in April, according to Ivans.

Consistent with the past 12 months, BOP and commercial property insurance continued to experience the highest premium renewal rate increases year over year, Ivans said.

Month over month, all lines of business experienced increases in premium renewal rate change in April, Ivans found.

Premium renewal rate changes by the line of business during April include the following.

• Commercial auto. The average premium renewal rate for commercial auto increased 6.16 percent in April, up from a 6.07 percent increase in March.
• BOP. The BOP premium renewal rate increased 7.6 percent in April, up from a 7.31 percent increase a month earlier.
• General liability. General liability saw a 5.5 percent premium renewal rate increase in April, up from a 4.98 percent increase during the prior month.
• Commercial property. The average premium renewal rate increase for commercial property was 10.09 percent in April, up from 9.14 percent in March.
• Umbrella. Umbrella saw a 5.09 percent premium renewal rate increase in April, up from a 4.67 percent increase a month earlier.
• Workers compensation. The premium renewal rate for workers compensation decreased 1.22 percent in April, up from a 1.33 percent decrease in March.

The monthly Ivans Index is based on the analysis of data from more than 120 million commercial insurance transactions.