Premium Hikes Eased but Continued for 28th Consecutive Quarter in Q3

Commercial insurance premium increases continued to moderate during the third quarter of 2024, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers' (CIAB) latest Commercial Property-Casualty Market Index report. 

The CIAB found that commercial insurance premiums across all account sizes increased by 5.1 percent during the period, nearly the same as the 5.2 percent increase seen during this year's second quarter. Even as premium increases moderated during the third quarter, however, the period was the 28th consecutive quarter the CIAB survey revealed premium increases across all account sizes. 

Survey respondents reported lower premium increases during the third quarter for all lines of commercial insurance business except umbrella, the CIAB said. Premiums for workers compensation, directors and officers (D&O), and cyber insurance all continued to fall during the quarter, with D&O showing the largest average premium decrease with a 1.9 percent decline, the CIAB report said. Survey respondents pointed to increased insurer competition as one of the factors behind the D&O premium decrease. 

Premiums for umbrella coverage increased 8.6 percent during the third quarter, the greatest increase of all lines, according to the report. The CIAB cited insurer wariness and reduced capacity for umbrella insurance as factors contributing to the pace of the third-quarter umbrella premium increase. The CIAB said that 70 percent of survey respondents who reported a change in umbrella underwriting capacity said they'd seen capacity decrease. 

The CIAB noted research from various organizations that identified social inflation—most frequently in commercial auto claims—as the main factor behind the third-quarter umbrella insurance premium increases.