Marsh: global commercial price increases slow down

Global commercial insurance pricing rose 4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 6% in the prior quarter, according to the Marsh Global Insurance Market Index.

The overall pace of pricing increases slowed for the eighth consecutive quarter; increases peaked at 22% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The fourth quarter was the twenty-first consecutive in which composite pricing rose, continuing the longest run of increases since the inception of the Marsh Index in 2012.

Marsh said that the quarter’s pricing moderation was driven largely by a 6% decrease in financial and professional lines and the continued moderation in cyber pricing.

According to the report, insurance pricing in the fourth quarter of 2022 in the US increased by 3%, compared to 5% in the prior quarter. US property insurance pricing increased by 11% in the fourth quarter, up from 8% in the third quarter and the twenty-first consecutive quarter in which pricing rose.

US casualty insurance pricing increased 1%, compared to 3% in the prior quarter; excluding workers’ compensation, the increase was 3%. Cyber insurance pricing increases moderated to 28% in the fourth quarter, compared to 48% in the third quarter as new entrants to the market increased capacity.

Insurance pricing in the UK increased 4% in the fourth quarter, compared to 7% in the third quarter, with UK property insurance pricing increasing 6%, the same as in the prior quarter. Casualty insurance pricing increased 4%, the same as in the prior two quarters, and UK cyber insurance pricing increased 34%, compared to 66% in the third quarter.

The Marsh report can be downloaded in full via the Marsh website.