Despite signs that transportation insurance rates were leveling off last quarter, the industry indicated that rates have been down across the board with intensifying competition
, according to the third quarter Transportation Insurance Pricing Survey conducted by NIP Group.

According to the survey, the number of those in the trucking segment that felt that premiums were decreasing by 1 to 10 percent was 54.05 percent, compared to 16.22 percent who believe there's been no change. In the intermodal trucking segment, 48 percent said premiums were going down by 1 to 10 percent, while 32 percent responded that there was no change.

Within the specialized transporters of heavy equipment and riggers segment, 41.67 percent saw rates down 1 to 10 percent. In the bulk transportation services sector, 34.78 percent indicated that rates were down 1 to 10 percent, with another 34.78 percent saying no change.

In contrast, rates stayed the same for the most part for owner-operator programs, with 41.38 percent indicating that rates have not changed. In addition, there were 17.24 percent of respondents that said that rates were down by 1 to 10 percent as well as by 10 to 20 percent.

When asked about their overall opinion of the transportation insurance market, 43.9 percent said they were soft, while 36.59 percent had a flat opinion of the market.

"TIPS results indicate that the market has reversed direction and is softer now compared to last quarter," said Richard Augustyn, CEO of NIP Group. "Nearly all signs of rates leveling off have been replaced by signs of intensifying competition. This change in direction is not what we were expecting based on last quarter's results. We will continue to monitor TIPS results to see how this plays out during the key January renewal period."