Commercial lines prices up in first quarter among Canadian carriers

Commercial lines insurance prices rose 2.7% in the first quarter of the year, Towers Watson has reported in its latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing survey of Canadian insurers.

“Commercial insurance prices in aggregate have been increasing marginally since the third quarter of 2011, with the highest increase in the first quarter of 2014,” according to the firm.

The survey compared prices charged on policies underwritten during the first quarter of 2014 to those charged for the same coverage during the first quarter last year. The report includes data from seven Canadian insurers/groups which represent approximately 20% of the Canadian commercial insurance market.

For the first three months of 2014, price increases in the “low single-digits” were reported across all commercial lines except professional liability, according to the report. General/products liability saw the largest price increase, followed by excess/umbrella liability.

“Historical claim cost information reported by the survey respondents reveals a deterioration of 11% in loss ratios in the accident year 2014 compared to the same period in 2013,” Towers Watson said.

“Estimates for claim cost inflation underlying the loss ratio movement was at 29% for accident year 2013 and 13% for 2014 for the aggregate commercial industry,” according to the report.