Insurance policy renewal rates declined for the first nine months of 2014, falling by 3.5% according to an analysis from Amlin PLC last week.
The London-based insurer found that rates for property catastrophe reinsurance are particularly declining.
Renewal rates for those policies, which Amlin described as facing a “challenging underwriting environment,” fell 8.2% through the third quarter.
Standard property/casualty business lines also fell, with rates going down an average of 1.2%. Some lines, such as marine and aviation, fell by an average 3.9% while energy classes fell a full 8.9%.
Noncatastrophe lines fared better, seeing an average 0.3% average rate increase while commercial auto increased by an average 5.7% in the first nine months of 2014.
With few major catastrophes for the year, rates continue to decline and insurers and reinsurers have posted an increase in profits over the same time period.
Charles Philipps, CEO of Amlin, greeted the news with particular triumph for his own company.
“Against a backdrop of intensifying competition as a result of increasing industry capital, we have successfully maintained underwriting discipline while making good progress in building a more diversified business which is better suited to meeting the challenges of the current environment,” Philipps said.
