The US insurance industry is experiencing similar trends to local insurers when it comes to the continued softening of the market.

A survey by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers shows the commercial property/casualty market continued to soften during the third quarter, with some insurers finding an appetite for business they had previously rejected.

Six out of 10 broker respondents said their small accounts experienced falls in premiums during the third quarter, and three-quarters of respondents that handle large and medium-sized accounts said customers had experienced falls in premium rates. Most of the decreases were in the 1-10% range.

“Underwriters are more liberal in what they will provide and what they will overlook,” one broker respondent said. “They are finding ways to write accounts that were excess and surplus 12-18 months ago.”

Another respondent said casualty lines are extremely soft. “Rates are always open to downward negotiation.”

It was another story altogether for US coastal exposures. Respondents reported wind, flood and property capacity was still tight, with deductibles and exclusions on the rise.

“The absence of growing domestic capacity to address the need associated with long-term coastal growth issues presents a broader economic concern that our industry, in the wake of global climate change, will struggle to deal with,” a respondent said.