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Worldwide rates maintain losing streak

Global insurance renewal pricing fell for the 17th straight quarter as significant capacity and a competitive underwriting landscape combined to suppress the market, broker Marsh says.

Pricing has been declining since early 2013.

The Marsh Global Insurance Market Index reports declines “across property, casualty, and financial and professional lines”.

“In global casualty lines, the rate of decline was higher in the second quarter than the first, largely driven by stronger declines in US casualty pricing,” it says.

Global casualty rates fell 1.7% in the June quarter compared with 0.6% in the preceding quarter, while property moderated its decline to 2.8% from 3.6% and the decrease in financial and professional lines narrowed to 2.1% from 2.6%.

Insurers in the Pacific region were the only collective group to register an increase in the June quarter, with average pricing up 6.3%.

Asia’s average pricing fell 3.2%, the US declined 2.6%, the UK slipped 4.2% and continental Europe was down 2.3%.

The US rate decline exceeded the global average, driven largely by its casualty line, which fell 2.3% after rising 0.4% in the preceding quarter.

US cyber-insurance rates slipped 1.5%, marking the first time since 2012 that pricing has fallen for two straight quarters.

“One contributing factor to the rate movement for cyber is the increase in capacity due to the expansion of risk appetite from existing cyber markets, and the entrance of new insurers into this product area,” Marsh says.