Survey: Market for coastal property easing a little

Coastal properties with wind exposure may be seeing a little relief when it comes to insuring those properties, according to the third quarter 2007 commercial property/casualty market index survey by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

Soft market conditions affecting most commercial P/C lines appear to be spreading to coastal properties with wind exposures, the survey found.

While coastal properties with wind exposure are still the hardest risks to insure, commercial agents and brokers responding to the survey said market conditions are easing and more capacity is available.

Responding to open-ended questions in the survey, brokers based in the Southeast indicated, among other things that:

• “Wind accounts are seeing 20-30 percent decreases year-over-year on the same limits.”

• “Rates are coming down for wind insurance. … No significant changes, however, in deductibles.”

• “Direct writers are now taking coastal exposure with percentage deductibles, along with many other players, with 2 percent to 5 percent wind normal.”

• “We’re in Florida. The marketplace has gotten very competitive for wind, especially with the smaller regional carriers.”

Overall, the commercial market remains soft for all sizes of accounts. Brokers said third quarter renewal rates for most ac-counts were significantly lower than during the second quarter, with only a handful of renewals showing no change.

An analysis of survey responses by Lehman Brothers showed the average premium rate for all sizes of accounts dropped 13.3 percent in the third quarter compared with renewals in the second quarter of 2007. The complete survey can be found on The Council’s Web site, www.ciab.com.