Commercial insurance premiums in the US fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, according to a Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) survey, representing a continuation of trends in the past two quarters.

Premiums for directors’ and officers’ (D&O) and general liability declined 1% in the third quarter, but competition for small and mid-sized D&O accounts remained intense. Workers’ compensation premiums dropped by nearly 3.4%.

Property insurance was the only line of business that increased in the third quarter, by 1.7%. RIMS says this modest average rise masks the sharp increases that continue to affect businesses with properties exposed to hurricanes and earthquakes.

Conversely, property owners in regions not prone to natural catastrophes continue to enjoy falling premiums.

RIMS Director Joseph Restoule says the situation remains grim for property insurance buyers in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, and earthquake cover is skyrocketing in California.

“It doesn’t appear as if property insurance premiums in these areas will improve any time soon, but the upside is that risk managers are getting relief in other lines of insurance,” he said.

In the first half of this year, the US property and casualty industry reported an underwriting profit of $US15.1 billion ($19.7 billion), a 31.8% increase over the same period in 2005, and it may report record profits for the full 2006 calendar year, pending any large-scale catastrophes.