P/C Composite Rate Index Flat For April

MarketScot on P/C rates for April 2015Rates for all lines of property and casualty insurance across the US averaged a net rate change of zero percent meaning that on average the price of insurance for all businesses remained the same in April 2015 as it was in April 2014.

Published on May 7, 2015

According to Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout, "The market continues to be trending downward over the last eight months, from October 2014 at plus 1..5 percent to April 2015 at a zero percent increase. It's not dramatic but it is a trend. Coastal property may experience some slight rate increases since we are on the cusp of the wind season. Rates on all other exposures should continue to be quite competitive."

When measuring rates by coverage classification, business owners policies (BOP), professional liability and D&O coverages decreased in April 2015 by one percent as compared to March 2015. Automobile coverage was actually up to plus 2 percent. Rates for all other coverages remained the same.

By account size, rates remained the same for all except the jumbo accounts (those over $1,000,000 premium). These jumbo accounts adjusted to a reduction of minus 2 percent in April 2015 as compared with rates in March 2015.

Industry classifications are all at a zero rate increase in April 2015 with the exception of transportation and which held steady at a rate increase of plus 1 percent and habitational, which increased from 0 percent in March 2015 to plus 1 percent in April 2015.

The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research conducted pricing surveys used in MarketScout's analysis of market conditions. These surveys help to further corroborate MarketScout's actual findings, mathematically driven by new and renewal placements across the United States.