IVANS: Commercial Lines Renewal Rates Continue Trending Positive

IVANS has announced the IVANS Index: Premium Renewal Rate Index October 2018 results. The results showed a continued increase in premium across nearly all major commercial lines except workers compensation, which experienced a slight negative downward shift.

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

• Commercial auto: 4.81 percent, up from 4.50 percent at the end of September.
• Businessowners policy: 4.08 percent, up from 3.57 percent the month prior.
• General liability: 2.74 percent, up from 2.29 percent at the end of September.
• Commercial property: 3.51 percent, up from 3.46 percent the month prior.
• Umbrella: 2.20 percent, down from 2.30 percent at the end of September.
• Workers compensation: -3.20 percent, down from -2.69 percent the month prior.

"Year over year, premium renewal rates continue to trend positive across nearly all lines, with workers comp being the only commercial line that has remained negative for the year," said Brian Wood, vice president of Data Products Group. "October's IVANS Index demonstrates that commercial auto and commercial property continue to be among the most profitable lines of business."

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 an 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 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 information. 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.

The complete IVANS Index report is available on the IVANS website.