Pricing may be inching downward in most commercial lines, but commercial excess isn’t one of them.

As the economy continues to improve, the commercial excess market presents serious opportunities for independent agents in 2015—particularly for small business clients whose needs will increase as they gain more assets that require protection.

“The flexibility of commercial umbrella coverage fits the need to protect vulnerable assets,” says Dan Gaynor, vice president and head of commercial lines at The Main Street America Group. “As general contractors continue to add more requirements, independent agents who remain aware of the changing requirements will have the opportunity to address needed coverages through commercial excess.”

And it’s a good time to do so. “We’re expecting a relatively competitive market to continue,” says Diane Amodeo, XL Group’s chief underwriting officer for excess casualty. “We have seen very low-digit price increases, generally because of either increased exposure or loss development.”

“Generally speaking, we can expect to see premium increases in commercial umbrella this year as the economy continues to gain steam,” Gaynor agrees. “These increases will flow from the underlying coverages as premium basis continues to increase.”

Tom Ryder, associate vice president and director of the Excess Casualty Center of Excellence at Burns & Wilcox, says some companies are experiencing a decline in commercial excess opportunities but an increase in average policy premium. “There is beginning to be a movement amongst carriers to try and get a little bit more rate,” he says.

What’s driving competition? Plenty of available capacity, Amodeo says—plus financial success across the board, with the exception of a few specific industries. “The market in general has made money,” she says. “So you’ve seen a lot of reserve releases by carriers, and that has perpetuated a competitive marketplace.”

As the soft p-c market persists, don’t be surprised to encounter clients that want to include more in commercial umbrellas, Amodeo says. “You might see more requests to include another type of incidental professional liability,” she notes. “They try to find the home in the umbrella for coverages that the insured might be paying for separately.”

And offering the coverage is important for more than just customer service reasons. Agents who don’t make it a point to provide their commercial insureds at least a quote on excess may leave themselves vulnerable to significant E&O exposure.

“Even if the insured ends up not buying it, at least the agent made the attempt,” Ryder says. “After a $2 million loss with only $1 million worth of underlying coverage, nobody can come back to you and say ‘You never gave me the opportunity to buy excess—you never talked to me about that.’”

What are the top issues related to commercial umbrellas that you and your commercial insureds will encounter this year? Keep an eye on IAmagazine.com and upcoming issues of the Markets Pulse e-newsletter to find out.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.