What’s behind the rising cost of commercial property insurance

Many factors driving increasing costs for commercial property

Economic inflation is continuing to squeeze budgets and monthly data has not indicated an overall turnaround in the rise in prices.

Inflation recently surged over 9% and the climb in Federal Reserve’s interest rate can pinch the ability of businesses to borrow money.⁶ This environment is impacting all of us, and consumers and businesses are taking a much closer look at where they spend their money and how they can protect their bottom line.

Insuring to value so that coverage keeps pace with the increase in the cost of repairs is critical, though – as is taking action to help mitigate the potential for loss.

As you’re having conversations with customers about levels of coverage, this infographic can help you identify what’s driving inflation and what’s contributing to the increase in property costs.

Actions to take
There are proactive steps customers can take to help mitigate damage to property and potential losses. These include working with Nationwide’s Loss Control Services teams and accessing the broad range of resources that are available on mylosscontrolservices.com.

In addition, policyholders who are registered with mylosscontrolservices.com can access even more programs, resources and services – many of which are available at no additional cost. If customers are not registered, you can share this registration link with them.

Talking points
In addition, we would like to provide talking points you can use alongside the infographic when explaining the cost increases with customers:

• The largest spike in construction material costs in 50 years (22% increase this year)¹, pandemic-related supply chain issues² and historic weather severity³ are driving increasingly high property costs.
• Because it’s so much more expensive and time-consuming to make repairs⁴, policyholders are paying more out of pocket after a loss if they haven’t adequately adjusted their coverage limit.
• Let’s review your policy details and coverage limits to ensure you are fully protected if a loss occurs to your property given the rising costs.
• In the meantime, expert consultants and resources from Nationwide’s Loss Control Services can help mitigate risk in the first place to avoid costly losses and disruptions to your business.