RIMS: COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, GL RATES FALLING:

The costs for two major commercial lines insurance fell in the first quarter of 2004, according to a RIMS Benchmark Survey. In the first quarter of 2004, premium prices for property insurance fell by about 1.5 percent. General liability insurance premium prices also fell by 1.4 percent, marking the first time in over four years that prices for two major lines of insurance retreated in the same quarter. The cost of property insurance fell 8.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 in the first decline in premium prices for any major line of commercial insurance since 2000.

The price increases in other lines of insurance also continued to slow, as employment practices liability, crime and, most notably, directors and officers liability all experienced price increases of less than five percent. The first quarter renewal information was summarized by Advisen Ltd. for the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS).

The results represent data compiled from over 1100 organizations to date.