Zurich will push for 5% premium increase in 2011

Insurers that do not put up commercial insurance rates this year are "heading for a fall", says Zurich managing director of commercial broker business Dave Smith.

He says that commercial lines need price increases of between 5% and 10% this year. "The really good insurers will get 5% of rate - we will get about 5%," Smith told Insurance Times at the 2011 Biba confereence in Manchester. "Some of the others will get zero rate increases or 1% - or go backwards - and they are heading for a fall. That is unsustainable."

Zurich is on track to achieving the 5% commercial lines rate rise. Having put through 2% of increases in 2009 and 3.6% in 2010, Smith says his company has achieved a 4.5% rise so far in 2011 excluding exposure changes.

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