For the second consecutive quarter, the overall increase in insurance pricing in the region was less than in the prior quarter, according to the latest Marsh Global Insurance Market Index.
The global trend was similar, as overall commercial insurance prices rose 15% in the quarter, the fifteenth consecutive quarter of global price increases. It appears, barring unforeseen changes in conditions, that global pricing increases peaked in the fourth quarter of 2020, at 22%.
In the below video, John Donnelly, Marsh’s Head of Global Placement Asia and Pacific, provides a snapshot on the Pacific region’s pricing movements and key drivers in Q2, and what we can expect to see for the rest of 2021.
Geographically, the UK, with a composite pricing increase of 28%, and the Pacific region, with a 23% increase, drove the global composite rate. In the Pacific region:
Property insurance pricing increased 14%, down from an increase of 20% in the prior quarter.
Casualty insurance pricing rose 18%, the largest year-over-year increase since 2012 and up from a 17% increase in the first quarter.
Financial and professional lines pricing rose 37%, marking 16 consecutive quarters of double-digit increases.
Increases across all geographies moderated in the second quarter due to a generally slower rate of increase in property and financial and professional lines.
Cyber insurance pricing diverged from the trend, with prices increasing by 56% in the US and 35% in the UK, driven by the frequency and severity of losses.
Regionally, composite pricing increases for the second quarter were as follows:
Pricing in financial and professional lines again had the highest rate of increase across the major insurance product categories:
It is important to note that reported pricing changes are averages and that the data used to estimate the changes cover a wide range of clients in terms of size, industry, location, claims history, and other parameters. Many clients received pricing changes that deviated from the average, some higher and some lower.
LCPA No. 21/222