Led by Cyber, Commercial Insurance Prices Increased 8.7 Percent in Q4

Commercial property-casualty insurance premiums experienced their 17th consecutive quarter of increases during the final 3 months of 2021, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers' (CIAB's) "Commercial Property/Casualty Market Index."

The average premium increase across all account sizes during the fourth quarter was 8.7 percent, according to the CIAB, down slightly from the 8.9 percent average increase during the third quarter.

The largest increases were for cyber insurance, which saw a 34.3 percent average increase during the fourth quarter, according to the CIAB's report. It was the first time since the post-9/11 hard market that a line of business saw an increase greater than 30 percent, the CIAB said.

Other commercial lines also continued to see significant increases during the fourth quarter, including umbrella and commercial property, which both saw increases exceeding 10 percent.

"Cyber continued to raise alarm bells across the industry," Ken A. Crerar, president and CEO of CIAB, said in a statement. "The increase in premiums for that line continued unabated in Q4 2021, and the frequency and severity of cyber claims continued to climb. The industry must take steps to confront this unique, constantly evolving risk."

The CIAB noted that insurers do seem to be taking steps to address cyber exposures. The organization's survey found many respondents reporting that insurers would refuse to provide quotes or terms if buyers didn't have multi-factor authentication in place and often required other risk controls such as endpoint detection and response, privilege access management, and staff training as well.