Commercial Insurance Pricing Continued to Increase in Second Quarter 2018

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 -- Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh and McLennan Companies, issued the following news release:

Marsh today released its Global Insurance Market Index for the second quarter of 2018. Highlights include:

Global commercial insurance prices rose, on average, for the third consecutive quarter. The increase was largely driven by insurance pricing for property lines, which continued to be affected by 2017 catastrophe losses, and by increases in financial and professional lines.

Overall, the market remained stable with second quarter price changes within a relatively narrow range across most product lines and geographies.

Globally, property insurance pricing increased 2.3%, on average. Financial and professional lines pricing increased 3.3% on average in the quarter, driven by increases in several regions, most notably Australia. Casualty pricing declined, on average, by 1.4%.

Prices trended up in most regions with Australia averaging the largest increase, while prices decreased slightly in Continental Europe and Asia.

Commenting on the findings, Dean Klisura, President, Global Placement and Specialties at Marsh, said: "The global property insurance market continues to be impacted by last year's losses, and we are now seeing increases in financial and professional lines pricing in several regions. However, overall pricing is generally stable across all lines of business and market capacity remains strong."

About Marsh

A global leader in insurance broking and innovative risk management solutions, Marsh's 30,000 colleagues advise individual and commercial clients of all sizes in over 130 countries. Marsh is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), the leading global professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue over US$14 billion and nearly 65,000 colleagues worldwide, MMC helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading firms. In addition to Marsh, MMC is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman. Follow Marsh on Twitter @MarshGlobal; LinkedIn; Facebook; and YouTube, or subscribe to BRINK.