COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Insurers are seeking to grow their books of business in a market where property and specialty rates are falling but prices for major liability lines keep rising.

At the Insurance Leadership Forum last week, senior executives discussed the push for growth in a commercial insurance market that is changing in an uncertain economic environment.

The meeting, sponsored by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, brings together insurers, brokers, reinsurers and others as companies plan their strategies for the coming year.

Discussions centered on market movements, such as the disruption caused by Howden’s recent launch in the U.S., and the potential for more mergers and acquisitions involving Japanese insurers aiming to expand globally.

Insurers’ growth ambitions and market conditions remained key themes, however.

“Every market is wanting to grow,” said Jon Drummond, head of broking, North America, at Willis Towers Watson.

Increased capacity and a drive for more premium have led to a softening property insurance market. Brokers report double-digit decreases in property rates that are expected to continue next year.

While they aim to grow, some insurers are cautious because of the uncertain economic environment, which includes rising tariffs, unemployment and bankruptcies, said Marc Kunney, San Francisco-based president of risk management and national specialties at EPIC.

“They’re looking after their profit and profitability, and it’s not a free-for-all, but they’re back in the (phase of) thinking about incremental growth,” he said.

In addition to property, some specialty insurance rates decreased.

Professional liability, directors and officers liability, cyber liability and employment practices liability are all seeing moderate decreases, Mr. Kunney said.

Cyber liability rates continue to fall as the market for the coverage expands, said Alex Blanco, CEO of Vantage Group’s insurance division.

“We’re growing in double digits, so there’s no stalling of the growth, but we also have to acknowledge the underlying rate environment,” Mr. Blanco said.

The cyber sector overall is profitable for underwriters, but some industries targeted by cybercriminals are more challenging, he said.

Some other specialty lines, though, are seeing sometimes sharp increases.

For large hospitals, for example, professional liability rates are sometimes increasing by 20% to 30% and sublimits are being imposed on sex assault and molestation exposures, Mr. Blanco said.

Liability

Rates continue to rise for general liability, auto liability and excess liability, brokers and insurers say.

“In U.S. casualty, you’re seeing moderate increases, and there are some parts of the casualty portfolio that are very tricky, certainly around some of the transportation risks,” said Karl Hennessy, president of McGill & Partners and U.S. CEO of the brokerage.

General liability rates are up in the single digits, umbrella rates are up 7.5% to 20%, depending on the class of business, and excess rates are up 10% to 15%, Mr. Kunney said.

Insurers continue to see increased claims due to higher settlements and jury awards. Although tort reform has been enacted in states like Florida and Georgia, the national liability market still faces challenges, Mr. Drummond said.

Aggregate liability loss trends are in the high single digits, and insurers are looking to charge rates that exceed the loss trends, said J. Powell Brown, president and CEO of Brown & Brown.

“That doesn’t mean that the market will bear that, but that’s what they’re seeing in their books,” he said.

In addition, workers compensation rates, which have been declining for years, are inching up for some buyers, Mr. Kunney said.

“We’re starting to see very small increases — 1%, 2%, 3% increases — not across the board, but definitely with some regularity,” he said.

New facilities

Buyers with difficult long-tail exposures sometimes struggle to secure sufficient capacity, but several larger brokers, including Willis, have developed follow-form programs in London.

Willis launched Gemini, a digital follow-form facility, in September. It automatically offers 12.5% capacity for a placement once the lead line is negotiated.

“It’s allowing us to bring capacity to these challenging programs and fill holes,” Mr. Drummond said.

McGill launched its London-market automatic follow facility Underscore Auton last year, Mr. Hennessy said.

“Every transaction that goes into our system is run through an algorithm and, if it is eligible, we will automatically be able to write a line on that program,” he said.

Insurers are using data and technology to help make exposures more insurable, said Sierra Signorelli, CEO, commercial insurance, at Zurich Insurance.

For example, New York construction has long been a challenging exposure because of laws that impose strict liability for falls from heights. Zurich saw more than 90% fewer incidents at a construction site where it used video coaching compared with another site with the same customer where video coaching was not used, she said.

“You can correct for things that aren’t being done properly and you reduce fraud and increase safety,” Ms. Signorelli said.

Zurich teamed with Chubb and National Indemnity earlier this year to launch a claims-made excess liability program offering $100 million in capacity. Most U.S. liability coverage is provided on an occurrence basis.

“We’ve had some good initial discussions at this point and are offering an alternative for those who are having trouble finding the capacity,” she said.

Underwriters are also inquiring about the use of artificial intelligence by businesses and its potential effect on risks, Mr. Blanco said.

“How will it penetrate the property market, or the property cover? How will it penetrate the professional financial lines market in terms of cover, whether it’s silent AI or affirmative AI,” he said.