The billions of dollars of global insurance and reinsurance capital wiped out by claims in a first quarter of devastating catastrophes has not stalled the continuing decline in US insurance rates.That is the finding of the RIMS Benchmark Survey, which found that three of the four lines of business tracked by the survey posted material decreases in average renewal premium in the first quarter, as reported by risk managers.The finding of the survey, sponsored by the Risk and Insurance Managers’ Society and administered by industry analysts Advisen, reflects an ongoing soft market that is putting pressure on underwriting profitability for many Bermuda re/insurers who do business in the US.“Risk managers tell us that insurers are more willing to walk away from underpriced business, and the numbers from the past couple of quarters seemed to show resolve to not let premiums fall further,” Dave Bradford, Advisen’s executive vice-president, said. “But capacity, as measured by policyholders’ surplus, is at an all-time high in the US property and casualty market. That puts a lot of pressure on premiums, and we saw them slip a bit in the quarter.”Property insurance posted the largest decrease, falling 4.2 percent on average for policies renewing during the quarter. The average workers’ compensation premium fell 3.2 percent and the average directors’ and officers’ premium dropped 2.3 percent. General liability was the only line tracked by the survey to not record a material decrease, declining only 0.8 percent.The Bermuda market alone has estimated catastrophe losses topping $5 billion during the first three months of the year, from the Australian flooding in January, the New Zealand earthquake in February and last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.Although the survey shows the losses have had little impact on rates in the US, the report found that additional catastrophes could exceed the tipping point, sparking higher premiums for property and, possibly, other lines of insurance.“The earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan are reminders as to how vulnerable the US is to devastating catastrophes,” says Frederick Savage, of the RIMS Board of Directors. “A big earthquake or hurricane could cause premiums across the board to change dramatically.“It is still relatively early on in the year with the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season still to come but barring a large catastrophe, 2011 looks to be another year of competitive pricing. There certainly is no shortage of capacity in most lines.”