NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - US business insurance rates continued to decline in the fourth quarter, led by an average 11 percent rate drop for directors and officers liability renewals compared to a year earlier, according to an industry survey.

General liability prices fell three percent and property rates declined 1.3 percent for policies renewed with the same insurer, the RIMS Benchmark Survey reported yesterday. The survey collects pricing information from corporate risk managers, under the auspices of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc., a non-profit industry group.