European buyers still benefiting from price competition: Marsh

International insurers are expanding operations into new geographies and lines of business as they scramble for growth in today's competitive market, explained Marsh. As a result, companies with attractive risks and good loss histories have an opportunity to secure premium rate reductions at renewal, Marsh said in its latest annual EMEA Insurance Market Report, which measures rating trends through 2014. Property and casualty rates at renewal continued to decline in most major European markets, although a small number of countries saw increases for catastrophe-exposed property, motor and selected speciality lines, most notably aviation. "Organisations should generally expect favourable market conditions in 2015, as the EMEA insurance market continues to be characterised by enduring insurer competition and a benign catastrophe loss environment," said Graeme MacMillan, Chief Executive at Marsh's UK Markets division.hideThe UK enjoyed rate reductions of 0%-10% across all major property and casualty insurance lines, with the exception of employee benefits rates that increased by 0%-10%. According to Marsh, the UK market saw a number of new entrants and an increase in capacity across the board, resulting in further softening. Buyers in Switzerland experienced even higher decreases of up to 20% across most property and casualty lines, with increases only apparent in workers' compensation and medical malpractice. However, other European markets experienced more variation in pricing, with occasional increases for some loss-affected lines of business. German property and general liability rates declined by 0%-10%, although catastrophe-exposed property accounts and motor insurance both experienced increases of up to 10%, said Marsh. In fact, some buyers seeking catastrophe-exposed property insurance faced rate increases of 15%-20% for higher limits in conjunction with bad loss records. In France, both property and general liability rates decreased by 10%-20%, although the most favourable liability business has seen decreases as high as 60%. Other liability lines, including directors' and officers' (D&O) liability, professional liability and medical malpractice, saw rates decline by as much as 10%, while motor rates increased by as much as 10%. Buyers in Spain saw rates decrease in most lines. Falls of 10%-20% were recorded for property and general liability. However, motor rates were stable. The Italian market is expected to remain soft in 2015, following reductions of up to 20% for non-catastrophe-exposed property lines and 10% for catastrophe business in 2014. Marine and aviation rates fell as much as 20% and 10% respectively, while most liability lines were stable. Property rates in the Netherlands were also stable last year, with pricing ranging from a 5% decrease to a 5% increase. However, most liability lines saw decreases of up to 10%, with the exception of motor where rates increased 0%-10%. Rates in Scandinavian countries were generally stable, with slight decreases in Sweden for D&O and marine. There were decreases of up to 20% for Danish D&O risks and increases of up to 10% for Nordic financial institutions and motor insurance. While motor rates increased in some European countries, they remained stable or reduced by an average of up to 10% in 25 of the 34 countries analysed across the EMEA region. Rates for D&O also remained stable or reduced by up to 10% in 32 countries. Only the Czech Republic and Russia experienced rate increases for D&O insurance in EMEA in 2014. Marsh also noted that enquiries for cyber insurance had increased across EMEA as firms became increasingly aware of their exposures.

European buyers still benefiting from price competition: Marsh

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