General Market Conditions – Primary Auto Liability
Due to capacity and decent loss history, the hard market that began in late 2012 is beginning to relax on moderate to good fleet accounts. However, carriers who dropped rates to target the most “vanilla” auto risks seem to have little interest in small fleet placements, distressed risks, and high hazard industry segments (such as energy).This means a continued trend of conservative risk selection as well as slow, but incremental rate increases for these types of accounts.
As a result, fleet submissions are flooding the growing marketplace in an effort to ensure the best pricing and terms available. Non-fleet risks are also being shopped due to the number of players who have exited the market or changed their appetite. This changing landscape provides opportunities to specialized carriers who have a clear target appetite, a proven history of writing transportation business, and consistency in handling claims and underwriting for auto risks.
Marketplace volatility continues in locations where a number of carriers are pulling out or restricting their appetite (Florida, Texas, and Louisiana specifically), as well in trucking niches like energy/tracking exposures, of which markets are leery. Additional factors include the nationwide driver shortage, further development of the Safety Measurement System (SMS) methodology, and the increased adoption of Central Analysis Bureau (CAB) in underwriting risks. The bottom line is commercial auto risks are being scrutinized and heavily underwritten, with every detail contemplated to help insurance companies improve underwriting results.
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