Year over Year US Property and Casualty Prices Remain Nearly Flat

In the latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS), Willis Towers Watson reports the continuation of nearly flat commercial insurance prices in the US during the third quarter of 2017. The survey compares policy pricing from the third quarter of 2017 against policies with the same coverage during the third quarter of 2016. Price changes reported by carriers averaged less than 1 percent for the ninth consecutive quarter, following a moderating trend in price increases that began in the first quarter of 2013.

Willis Towers Watson's website states the following.

"Two lines indicated material price decreases in the second quarter, workers compensation and directors & officers liability. Commercial property prices, which had been decreasing for much of the recent past, inched towards moderation, with only a slight decrease.

The outlier in the results continues to be commercial auto, where meaningful price increases are again reported and appear to be accelerating. Price changes for most other lines fell in the low single digits. When comparing account sizes, price changes were positive for small accounts, and fairly flat for mid-market and large accounts."

"Through three quarters of 2017, preliminary data indicate little movement in P&C commercial insurers' loss ratios (excluding the impact of catastrophes)—an improvement from last quarter—as insurers revised downward their earlier initial estimates of claim cost inflation," said Pierre Laurin, Americas Property & Casualty sales and practice leader for Insurance Consulting and Technology at Willis Towers Watson.

CLIPS data are based on new and renewal business figures obtained directly from insurers underwriting the business. Data was contributed from 39 participating insurers representing approximately 20 percent of the US commercial insurance market (excluding state workers compensation funds).