American commercial property and casualty rates continued to soften last month, with the electronic insurance exchange MarketScout saying there has been a 5% drop from the previous February.

CEO Richard Kerr says the past six months have been “quite consistent”, with rate reductions bouncing between 4% and 5% each month.

But property rates in some locations are firming.

“While property rates were down 5% on a national basis, rates for wind capacity in the Gulf Coast, Florida and the East Coast up to and including North Carolina are moderating or increasing,” Mr Kerr said.

MarketScout says continued competition for large accounts – premiums worth $US250,000 ($274,000) to $US1 million ($1.1 billion) – saw rates dip 7% last month after a 5% fall in January.

Driving the competition are the big field of insurers targeting large accounts and a scurry to meet budget projections in the face of lower premiums linked to considerably lower exposures.