More evidence of a softening insurance market has come from a survey which showed that commercial insurance premiums continued to decline during the second quarter of 2007.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Benchmark Survey, based on data gathered from corporate risk managers, shows there were major drops in several lines of business.

Based on the latest renewals, the survey's second-quarter reports show that directors and officers liability (D&O) continued to drop, falling an average of 7.29 percent since last year.

Workers' compensation also continued its steady downward slide, though at a lesser pace, to 1.82 percent as compared to 3.8 percent in the first quarter.

The slower pace of premium erosion in workers' compensation may be due to reform measures in large states such as California and Florida having now worked their way through the system, according to an analysis by insurance industry analyst Advisen. General liability premiums continued a downward trend with a decrease of 1.16 percent.

Reports show that property insurance exhibited no change, despite rate decreases reported by 70 percent of survey respondents during the second quarter.