Increased competition has kept pressure on commercial premiums and provided a favourable environment for insurance buyers this year, according to an Aon Australia report.

“In all major policy classes we have seen a growth in capacity, which [even in] some of the poorer-performing policy classes has [created] downward pressure on rates,” MD of Broking and Chief Broking Officer Pacific James Baum said.

Competition grew towards the end of the second quarter and in June a number of ASX 250 clients acted on favourable pricing, according to the third-quarter Commercial Insurance Market Update.

Aon’s data showed “essentially a flat position” for first-half premium growth.

Property premium renewals gained 3.7% in the six months to June, compared with 9.64% for the corresponding period last year. An increase of 3.67% is forecast for April to September.

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