Rates for workers’ compensation coverage in the U.S. rose 1% in June, marking the only property-casualty line to show an increase in rates for the month, according to MarketScout.

The soft market gripping commercial insurance in recent years is “losing steam,” as uncertainty offers a cloudy future, according to a new report.

The earthquake in Japan, where estimated losses would make it the worst disaster in history, will affect insurance rates in the U.S., according to industry experts.

A piece of President Barack Obama‘s State of the Union Address may offer hope to the property-casualty insurance industry, struggling with a soft market and limited construction projects.

The passage of health reform in 2010 was chosen by visitors to IFAwebnews.com as the biggest story of 2010.

The soft property-casualty market is staying around for at least another year, according to Willis Group Holdings’ forecast for 2011, which goes as far as to encourage insurance buyers to take “smart advantage” of the ongoing soft market.

The workers’ compensation market felt the effects of the global financial crisis last year, with net premiums written plunging 14.6%, to $12.3 billion, marking its lowest level in a decade.

Sales of property-casualty insurance policies in the U.S. increased for the first time in 13 quarters, according to an induåçstry organization, as personal lines insurers appeared to charge higher premiums in the second quarter.

The Deepwater Horizon oil disaster isn’t big enough to move the property-casualty sector to raise prices or end the soft market in the commercial lines, according to a Towers Watson analysis.

All it would take, says a property-casualty insurance expert, is one big storm to end the soft market. Otherwise, risk managers can expect the soft market to continue indefinitely, according to RIMS.