July 9, 2018 | Business Insurance 

Author: Matthew Lerner

Property/casualty rates in the U.S. rose 2.5% percent on average in the second quarter of 2018 compared with the first quarter, MarketScout said in a statement.

Commercial auto lines saw the steepest increase at 6%, according to the statement. Commercial property was up 4% for the quarter.

By industry class, transportation saw the largest increase at 6% in the second quarter, while manufacturing, energy and public entity saw the smallest at 2%.

“It’s hard to find a commercial insurer who hasn’t suffered from a book of auto/trucking risks in the past 10 years,” Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout, said in the statement. “There are fewer companies willing to write auto or trucking risks. The demand is exceeding the supply, so rates continue to trend upward.”

Other lines seeing second-quarter increases included business interruption at 2%, directors and officers liability at 2%, and employment practices liability at 3%, according to the statement.

Small accounts up to $25,000 saw a 3% rate hike in the second quarter, as did medium accounts ($25,001-$250,000). Large accounts ($250,001-$1 million) were up 2% and jumbo accounts (over $1 million) were up 1%.

The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research conducted pricing surveys used in MarketScout’s analysis of market conditions. These surveys help to further corroborate MarketScout’s actual findings, mathematically driven by new and renewal placements across the United States.