Increasing Rates for Most Major Commercial Lines According to IVANS

IVANS has announced its latest IVANS Index: Premium Renewal Rate Index update. April results continue to show positive change across nearly all major commercial lines except for workers compensation, which remains in negative territory for the year. Month over month, April experienced a downward shift in premium renewal rate change across the majority of commercial lines, except commercial auto and umbrella, which experienced slight upticks.

Premium renewal rate change by line of business for April 2018 highlights include the following.

• Commercial auto: 4.54 percent, up from 3.87 percent at the end of April. April marks the highest premium renewal rate change in 2018 for commercial auto.
• Businessowners policy: 3.86 percent, down from 4.29 percent the month prior 
• General liability: 2.16 percent, down from 2.24 percent at the end of April
• Commercial property: 2.98 percent, down from 3.04 percent the month prior
• Umbrella: 2.31 percent, up from 2.13 percent at the end of April. April marks the highest premium renewal rate change in 2018 for umbrella.
• Workers compensation: -2.93 percent, down from -2.79 percent the month prior

"The beginning of Q2 continues to showcase increasing premium renewal rates year over year across most major commercial lines, with Commercial Auto positively seeing the greatest increase in premium renewals," said Brian Wood, vice president of IVANS Markets. "The IVANS Index further reiterates the hardening insurance market as insurance premiums rise and insurers are evaluating which lines of business to actively compete in."

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 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 30,000 agencies and 380 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.