Commercial Lines Premium Renewal Rates Variable October to November

IVANS announced the IVANS Index: Premium Renewal Rate Index November 2019 results. Year over year, nearly all lines of business experienced an increase in average premium renewal rate, except workers compensation, which saw a negative turn. Month over month, November experienced varying premium renewal rate change across the majority of the commercial lines products, with upticks for general liability, commercial property, umbrella, and workers compensation. Commercial auto and businessowners policy (BOP) saw negative changes.

The premium renewal rate change highlights by the line of business for November 2019 include the following.

• Commercial auto: 4.12 percent, down from 4.33 percent in October
• BOP: 4.42 percent, down from 4.54 percent in October
• General liability: 2.53 percent, up from 2.49 percent in October
• Commercial property: 4.37 percent, up from 4.35 percent the prior month
• Umbrella: 2.65 percent, up from 2.46 percent in October
• Workers compensation: 2.53 percent, up from -2.95 percent in October

"From November 2018 to November 2019, we are seeing positive changes across nearly all commercial lines of business, with the most significant increase experienced by BOP," said Brian Wood, vice president of Data Products Group, IVANS Insurance Services.

IVANS Index, released monthly, is a data-driven report on conditions and trends for premium rate renewal change of the most-placed commercial lines of business in the insurance industry. Based on the analysis of more than 120 million data transactions, the IVANS Index premium renewal rate change measures the premium difference year over year for a single consistent policy. It includes more than 32,000 agencies and 400 insurers and managing general agents, and it reflects premium rate change trends experienced by all agencies and insurers across the US insurance market. IVANS Index is available to agencies and insurers as part of IVANS's "Market Insights."

To derive the change in cost, IVANS uses policies that have the same insured, insurer, product type, policy number, expiration date, effective date, and producing agency. For example, if an insured paid $1,000 for a policy last year and $1,023 this year, IVANS Index would state that there is a premium renewal rate change of 2.3 percent. IVANS Index does not use exposure base change or claims experience. Policies with anomalous exposure changes or claims experience are removed.