The Council's Q4 2024 P/C Market Survey reflects continued mixed conditions across commercial lines, with property premiums showing ongoing moderation after years of sharp increases. Casualty lines including excess, umbrella, and commercial auto remained elevated as loss trends and social inflation persisted. The survey provides broker members with quarterly pricing benchmarks across all major commercial lines.
For Immediate Release
Nicole Vasile
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
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Zachary West
Content Specialist
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Cyber Premium Relief Continued While Auto Struggled for 54th Quarter, The Council’s P/C Market Survey Shows
WASHINGTON, D.C. – 2024 trends continued in the final quarter of the year, according to The Council’s quarterly P/C market survey. Premiums across all account sizes increased by an average of 5.4%, in line with the increases in previous quarters. Q4 2024 was the 29th consecutive quarter of premium increases across all account sizes.
Most lines of business recorded premium increases roughly equal to or lower than Q3 2024 increases, with the exception of commercial auto and umbrella. D&O, workers compensation, employment practices, and cyber fell this quarter and the cyber line of business showed the largest decrease out of all lines, at 1.8%. Survey results showed increased capacity for the line, and industry reports demonstrated an increase in carriers competing for U.S. cyber business, two factors often correlated with lower premiums. Cyber resiliency may also have contributed, as industry cyber loss ratios have continued to fall from their peak in 2020 and 2021, despite a notable rise in ransomware attacks.
Commercial auto, on the other hand, had the highest average increase in premiums out of all lines in Q4 2024 at 8.9%, the 54th consecutive quarter of increases for this line. Fifty percent of respondents reported an increase in claims in Q4 2024 while 41% noted a decrease in underwriting capacity, two metrics associated with increased premiums.
Rising commercial auto claim frequency and severity may also have contributed to higher premiums in Q4. A November 2024 analysis by AM Best also found that the average loss per commercial auto liability claim doubled since 2014. Additionally, fleet electrification (research showed a 233% increase in electric vehicles in commercial and government fleets from 2019 to 2021) can also result in higher premiums due to the unique risk profile of electric vehicles.
Overall, apart from commercial auto and umbrella, as one respondent from a large Northeastern firm put it, “Q4 2024 seemed to be a stable quarter.”
