Pricing across the various classes of insurance in the US is giving mixed messages about the state of the market, according to the latest Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) benchmark survey.

RIMS board member Karen Beier says the survey shows a market pulling in different directions. “Indications are that the market is near its bottom and waiting for a catalyst to nudge it in the other direction, but it is still unknown what that catalyst will be.”

The survey says commercial lines premiums are continuing along the path of an “18-month-long down market”, but there are mixed signals from other lines.

While general liability showed signs of firming, property fell a further 4.3% in the past quarter.

The survey’s editor-in-chief, David Bradford, says prices in some lines may turn up again. “This could be a lull before another round of price declines, or… it could be the last gasp of a shallow and relatively short-lived soft market.”