Analysis undertaken by Marsh indicates global commercial insurance prices increased 18% during the first quarter of 2021.
The opening three months of 2021 was reportedly the first to show a fall in the average rate of increase since Q4 2017.
These findings follow year-on-year average increases of 22% in the fourth quarter and 20% in the third quarter of 2020.
According to Marsh’s index, increases across geographies moderated due to generally slower rate rises in property insurance and financial and professional lines.
Driving the global composite rate was both the UK, with a composite pricing increase of 35%, and the Pacific region, which managed a 29% increase.
Marsh notes how the rate of increase in the US dropped from 17% to 14%, while the Pacific fell from 35% to 29%.
Meanwhile, global property insurance pricing was up 15% on average, down from the 20% increase in the fourth quarter 2020; casualty pricing was up 6% on average, compared to a 7% increase in the prior quarter.
Pricing in financial and professional lines was found to have had the highest rate of increase across the major insurance product categories, at 40%, compared to 45% in the previous quarter.
Cyber insurance pricing diverged from the trend, with prices increasing in the first quarter by 35% in the US and 29% in the UK, driven by a rise in the frequency and severity of losses.
In the previous quarter, cyber rates were 17% in the US and 26% in the UK.
