U.S. commercial insurance prices have continued to increase in the first quarter of 2023, according to WTW’s latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The quarterly survey compared insurance prices on policies underwritten during the first quarter of 2023 to those charged for the same coverage throughout the same quarter in 2022. The aggregate commercial price change reported by carriers was an increase of 5.6%, up from the rate of 4.8% in the previous quarter (Q4’22).
The coverage area that experienced the greatest price increase was Commercial Property with a double-digit increase, trending higher than in the prior quarter. Another line demonstrating a double-digit increase was Commercial Auto, yet slightly lower than in the prior quarter. Workers’ Compensation continued to show a price decrease, as well as Directors & Officers Liability, where both continued to display a similar price decrease as exhibited in the prior quarter.
“Rates continued to harden across nearly all lines of coverage in the first quarter, with an aggregate price increase higher than in the prior quarter, driven primarily by the double-digit increase from Commercial Property, constrained by the impact of recent high inflation,” said Yi Jing, Director, Insurance Consulting and Technology, WTW.
CLIPS is a retrospective look at historical changes in commercial property & casualty insurance (P&C) prices and claims cost inflation. A forward-looking analysis of commercial P&C trends, outlook, and rate predictions can be found in WTW’s Insurance Marketplace Realities series.