No Surprises Here: Soft Market Continued Through January

The January 2011 composite rate for U.S. property and casualty coverages was down 5 percent, matching the 2010 year-end computations. Marketscout noted that noted that small accounts were less competitive than larger accounts.

Source: Source: MarketScout | Published on February 9, 2011

Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout observed, "Underwriters on small accounts, those under $25,000, are not pricing nearly as aggressively as large account underwriters. Small account rate reductions were down only 1 percent, while accounts paying a premium over $1 million enjoyed rate reductions averaging 6 percent.”

By coverage, commercial property and general liability were down the most with an average rate reduction of minus 5 percent. Workers compensation, professional liability, D&O liability, EPLI, fiduciary and surety were the coverage classes experiencing the smallest decreases (-1 percent).