IVANS Index: Commercial Rates Up in Q1 Except Workers’ Compensation

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Insurance premium renewal rate change for the majority of standard commercial lines products including auto, business owners, general liability, property and umbrella remained in positive territory for the first quarter. Workers’ compensation is the one product that continued to maintain a negative premium renewal rate.

That’s according to a new index published by IVANS, a division of Applied System, that the firm says analyzes more than 120 million transactions involving 30,000 agencies and 380 insurers and managing general agencies. The IVANS Index is therefore reflective of the premium rate change trends being experienced by all agencies and insurers across the U.S. insurance market, according to its publishers.

Additional findings by line of business include:

Commercial Auto: Premium renewal rate change averaged 2.71% for the quarter, ending at 2.61% for March; renewals have held steady above 2.5% and below 3.0% for the quarter.
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP): Quarter premium renewal rate change averaged at 3.89%, ending at 3.86% for March; quarter-over-quarter change remained flat.
General Liability: Each month of Q1 demonstrated a consistent premium renewal rate change average, with 2.07% for January, 2.02% for February and 2.02% for March.
Property: After reaching a premium renewal rate change of 2.71% at the end of 2016, renewal rate change fell in Q1 to an average of 2.66%.
Umbrella: Premium renewal rate change reached 1.37% in March versus an average of 0.87% experienced between January and February.
Workers’ Compensation: The only soft market with negative premium renewal rate change, averaging -0.48% for the quarter.

The IVANS Index measures projected premium renewal rate change against industry averages.

Matt Foran, vice president of IVANS Markets, says the index enables the” insurance ecosystem to evaluate effectively which lines of business have the greatest opportunity for profitable growth.”

IVANS Index is available to agencies and insurers as part of Market Insights, one of a new suite of digital services from IVANS designed to improve agency-carrier connections.

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