US commercial insurance rates slow to 4.8% annual pace in Q4: WTW survey

U.S. commercial insurance prices rose again in the fourth quarter of 2022, albeit with a 4.8% annual price gain down from the 5.2% recorded one quarter earlier, global insurance broker  WTW reported of its quarterly CLIPS pricing survey.

Analysts cited “moderate to significant upward price adjustments for multiple lines,” led by acceleration in commercial property and commercial auto, toned by a slowing growth rate for remaining lines and even deflation for D&O and workers compensation.

Both commercial property and commercial auto liability recorded higher price gains than in Q3,m the only segments to do so. Commercial auto saw reported price increases near or above double digits for the twenty-first consecutive quarter.

Cyber, only in the WTW survey since Q4 2021, slowed down to a single digit pace.

The third largest price increase came from excess/umbrella liability which slowed “slightly” from the prior quarter, but only to tame an acceleration that had run through the prior fourteen quarters.

The greatest price reduction came for directors & officers’ liability (D&O), with a slightly larger decline than in the prior quarter. Workers compensation was said to show a “slight” price reduction.

The headline price figures have been trending down. The aggregate commercial price change reported by carriers spiked upward to nearly and above 10% in the second through the fourth quarters of 2020, and since then has started declining to just below 5% now in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The WTW CLIPS pricing survey is a year on year comparison of like for like coverage.

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