IVANS: Commercial Lines Renewal Rates Experience Negative Changes

IVANS has announced the IVANS Index: Premium Renewal Rate Index January 2019 results. Month over month, January experienced a negative change in average premium renewal rate change across the majority of commercial lines except commercial auto and workers compensation, which experienced a positive uptick, and businessowners policy, which remained flat. Compared to the prior year, average premium renewal increased across all lines of business except workers compensation.

Premium renewal rate change by line of business for January 2019 highlights include the following.

• Commercial Auto: 4.57 percent, up from 4.51 percent in December
• Businessowners Policy: 4.23 percent, consistent with the month prior
• General Liability: 1.16 percent, down from 2.23 percent in December
• Commercial Property: 3.74 percent, down from 3.95 percent the month prior
• Umbrella: 2.17 percent, down from 2.29 percent in December
• Workers Compensation: -1.04 percent, up from -2.66 percent the month prior

"Most commercial product lines saw a slight downturn in the beginning of 2019 as compared to December 2018," said Brian Wood, vice president of Data Products Group.

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 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.

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