Global commercial insurance prices increased by 3 percent during the first quarter of 2019, according to data from re/insurance broker Marsh, marking a sixth consecutive quarter of price increases.
Marsh also noted that the rate of growth in commercial insurance prices was at its highest since it began its survey in 2012.
Regionally, the Pacific had the largest price increases in the index (at more than 10 percent), while the UK and Continental Europe reported much lower increases of around 2 percent.
Pricing for property risks increased by almost 5 percent on average, Marsh noted, while casualty prices declined by 1 percent in a continuation of a trend that began in 2013.
Composite pricing increases were also observed across all regions for a second consecutive quarter, for six consecutive quarters in the UK and Latin America, and for nine in the Pacific region.
Marsh found that property pricing increases were led by large, multi-layered programs (with a gross written premium greater than $1 million), which experienced almost 7 percent increases in rates.
Meanwhile, average pricing in financial and professional lines increased by almost 6 percent, and all global regions experienced a rise, primarily driven by increases in D&O insurance.
Financial and professional liability insurance rates in the US increased by 2.8 percent, driven by pricing in D&O liability.
D&O pricing for public companies increased nearly 6 percent in the first quarter, with 77 percent of clients experiencing an increase, the highest percentage of increases in several years.
Dean Klisura, President of Global Placement at Marsh, commented on the findings: “While 3 percent is the largest average increase in insurance pricing we have seen since the index began in 2012, market capacity remains strong in most products and geographies.”
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