The average cost of insurance fell again in 2008 as companies' total cost of risk declined for the fourth year in a row, but that slide may be coming to an end, according to two recently released studies. The percentage of companies' revenue spent on insurance dropped 9.4% last year, reflecting lower premiums for almost every type of coverage, according to an annual survey from the Risk and Insurance Management Society and Advisen. The survey measures the total cost of risk, which includes retained losses and risk management administrative costs.

However, property and casualty prices decreased less than 1% in the first quarter of this year, the smallest decline in four years, according to a Towers Perrin survey on commercial insurance pricing trends. Bigger buyers of insurance–companies whose annual premiums exceed $50,000–actually saw prices rise in the first quarter, while smaller buyers saw a small decline. Premiums for directors and officers liability coverage also rose in the first quarter, according to the survey. Towers Perrin notes, though, that the economic slowdown could mean a decline in premiums even as insurance prices rise, because companies with smaller exposures, in the form of fewer employees, receipts or miles driven, need less insurance.

See also: How insurance premiums fared in the first quarter.