Results for 4th Quarter TIPS™ Survey Released Today
February 9th, 2009 (Woodbridge, NJ) — Today NIP Group, Inc. published the results of the Transportation Insurance Pricing Survey (TIPS™), an index designed to benchmark changes in the availability and rates in the transportation insurance marketplace. The survey was issued last month to the nation’s leading transportation insurance brokers, wholesalers and underwriters representing thousands of account placements.
The survey results indicate that rate decreases are beginning to show signs of slowing in the fourth quarter of 2008, with some early signs of the trend moving in the direction of modest rate increases. While the decline in prices has not been experienced across all account sizes, nearly all market segments and products have been affected by this trend. According to respondents, the number of new insurance carriers competing for premium in Transportation market segments has abated in the fourth quarter.
The slowing of rate decreases was most noticeable in small accounts (those with premiums of $75K or less), where the number of respondents who felt that rates were down by 10% or more fell by 25% since the third quarter. In medium-sized accounts (those with premiums between $75K and $250K), the number of brokers who believed that rates were down by 10% or more fell just by 4%, however the number of brokers who believed that rates were flat or increasing rose by more than 50% for all accounts with premiums of less than $250K. For large accounts, (those with premiums of more than $250K), the rate decreases were consistent to those experienced in prior quarters.
The survey also measures premium changes across ten different transportation segments. The flattening of rate decreases was seen by brokers insuring most segments but was most noticeable in the Bulk Transportation, Charter/Tour Bus Operators and Airport Ground Transportation segments, where the number of respondents who observed any rate decrease was significantly lower (at least 40% in each segment) than it had been in the third quarter.
Participants were also asked to comment on premiums by coverage type. The slow-down in rate decreases was especially visible in the Motor Truck Cargo and Warehouseman’s Legal lines of business. Additionally, for the first time since TIPS’ inception more than 50% of respondents indicated that rates on Umbrella policies are equal to or higher than expiring rates.
“We will continue to track the movement in the TIPS™ index”, said Richard Augustyn, CEO of NIP Group, Inc. “We believe that TIPS™ is a valuable tool that serves a dual purpose of tracking rate movements for the transportation insurance market and while offering a leading indicator of the direction of rates for general commercial insurance.”
Get the results here.
About NIP Group, Inc.
NIP Group, Inc. is a specialized business insurance and risk management intermediary, ranked among the largest 100 in the United States and providing a wide range of brokerage, underwriting and risk management services to select market segments.
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- NIP Group, Inc. Releases TIPS™ Results for 2nd Quarter
- TIPS™ Results for Q3 Published, Rates Falling Again
