Data for nearly all lines indicated a rise in prices, some significant, with double-digit increases for directors’ and officers’ liability, excess/umbrella, commercial auto and property. For most other lines, price changes were consistent with those observed in the prior quarter. When comparing account sizes, price changes varied: muted for small commercial accounts and higher across mid-market accounts, with large accounts nearing double digits.
“During the first quarter of 2020 we saw a continuation of substantial price increases for excess/umbrella and directors’ and officers’ liability,” said Alejandra Nolibos, senior director, Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson. “Focusing on workers compensation, carriers reported reductions once again. That said, first quarter statistics are unlikely to reflect reactions to the short and midterm impacts of COVID-19, among them changes in task and employment mix and the economic situation. Ongoing analyses of detailed data on emergence and exposures, coupled with carriers’ outlooks for the environment and a refreshed interest in the role of systemic events in this class, will be important determinants of premium trends in the future.”
CLIPS is a retrospective look at historical changes in commercial property and casualty insurance (P&C) prices and claim cost inflation. A forward-looking analysis of commercial P&C trends, outlook and rate predictions can be found in Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities series.