Declining property rates and easing of upward property ratepressure across multiple product lines should create a favorableyear for insurance buyers, writes Willis in its 2014 NorthAmerican marketplace report.

Willis expects property rates to fall an average of 10-12percent for non-catastrophe exposed risks and decrease about 5-10percent for risks exposed to natural catastrophes, such ashurricanes. The decline is driven by an influx of alternativecapital to the insurance industry, especially to the catastrophicproperty risk segment.

The spring edition of Willis's Marketplace Realities paperpredicted modest increases for both non-catastrophe andcatastrophe-exposed accounts.