Overall, Property & Casualty Rates in the United States were just plus 1 percent in October
While personal lines rates remained moderate in October, the composite rate of U.S. commercial lines rates noted a similar trend with a plus one percent rise in rates for October 2014. Dallas-based insurance exchange and general managing agency MarketScout, which measures the personal and commercial lines rates each month, says that when measuring rates by coverage, the numbers mirror September’s numbers with the exception of automobile and professional liability, both of which rose one percent from their September numbers. Conversely, both property and workers’ compensation rates were more competitive because rates for both lines of coverage saw a one percent reduction.
Commenting on the commercial rate trends for October, Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout said, “As expected, the US composite commercial rate continues its slow slide. We are almost completely past hurricane season, so we expect continued pressure on property rates. Workers’ compensation rates are also down from last month; however, a few large insurers could be facing some challenges on their comp book. If so, this could moderate the slide in WC premiums.”
In looking at account sizes, only small account rates changed from September 2014, decreasing from plus three to plus two percent. All other account size rates remained unchanged. As for industry, Contracting, Service and Transportation all saw a reduction in their rates of one percent. Only Manufacturing and Energy Risks showed rate increases, each logging a one percent increase with their rates moving from plus one to plus two percent. Every other industry remained unchanged from their September numbers.
The October numbers by Coverage Class
| By Coverage Class | October 2014 Rates | September 2014 Rates |
| Commercial Property | Up 1% | Up 2% |
| Business Interruption | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| BOP | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| Inland Marine | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| General Liability | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| Umbrella/Excess | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| Commercial Auto | Up 3% | Up 2% |
| Workers’ Compensation | Up 1% | Up 2% |
| Professional Liability | Up 2% | Up 1% |
| D&O Liability | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| EPLI | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| Fiduciary | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| Crime | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| Surety | Up 1% | Up 1% |
The October numbers by Account Size
| By Account Size | October 2014 | September 2014 |
| Small Accounts (Up to $25,000) | Up 2% | Up 3% |
| Medium Accounts ($25,001 – $250,000) | Up 2% | Up 2% |
| Large Accounts ($250,001 – $1 million) | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| Jumbo Accounts (Over $1 million) | Up 0% | Up 0% |
The October Numbers by Industry Class
| By Industry Class | October 2014 | September 2014 |
| Manufacturing | Up 2% | Up 1% |
| Contracting | Up 3% | Up 4% |
| Service | Up 1% | Up 2% |
| Habitational | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| Public Entity | Up 1% | Up 1% |
| Transportation | Up 2% | Up 3% |
| Energy | Up 2% | Up 1% |
