P&C insurance companies are in a tough spot right now. According to a recently released Insurance Services Offices report, their margins have dropped below break-even.  Investment income has fallen through the floor, and the commercial mortgage backed securities market hasn’t even begun to take the hit that analysts predict it will. On top of that, premiums are shrinking, not rising. Not only are rates still dropping but so are the sales and payroll numbers on which the premium rates are computed. As reported in BestWire

… the recession has left commercial insurance buyers with fewer employees and fewer risks to insure. “Our customers are smaller than they were a year before,” [Mario P. Vitale, chief executive officer of global corporate for Zurich Financial Services] said.

How does the shrinking customer impact rates? As succinctly explained by Steve Tuckey:Continue Reading Insurers Wait for a Hard Market: If Only Wishing Could Make It So