U.S. Commercial Insurance Prices Stay Nearly Flat During Third Quarter

ARLINGTON, Virginia, Dec. 11 -- Willis Towers Watson, an advisory, broking and solutions company, issued the following news release:

Commercial insurance prices in the U.S. were again nearly flat during the third quarter of 2017, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson's (NASDAQ: WLTW) Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The survey compared prices charged on policies written during the third quarter of 2017 with those charged for the same coverage during the equivalent quarter in 2016. Price changes reported by carriers averaged less than 1% for the ninth consecutive quarter, following a moderating trend in price increases that began in the first quarter of 2013.

Price changes in the third quarter for most lines of business were fairly consistent with changes reported in the second quarter. Data for workers compensation and directors and officer's liability indicated modest price decreases, while commercial property prices moved towards moderation with only a slight decrease. The outlier in the survey results continues to be commercial auto, where meaningful price increases were again reported and have been accelerating. For most other lines, price changes fell in the low single digits. Price changes were positive for small account sizes 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, Willis Towers Watson.

About CLIPS

CLIPS data are based on both new and renewal business figures obtained directly from carriers underwriting the business. CLIPS participants represent a cross section of U.S. property & casualty insurers that includes many of the top 10 commercial lines companies and the top 25 insurance groups in the U.S. This particular survey compared prices charged on policies written during the third quarter of 2017 with the prices charged for the same coverage during the same quarter of 2016. For the most recent survey, 39 participating insurers representing approximately 20% of the U.S. commercial insurance market (excluding state workers compensation funds) contributed data.