Insurers start to increase premiums, signaling an end to the soft market.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Premium increases for property and casualty insurers are expected to leap at least 8 percent this year, topping last year's jump of 5.2 percent.

Analysts said the increase signals an end to a long soft market cycle, which started in the early 1990s when companies competed to lower rates while absorbing rising loss costs.

Dan Ryan, assistant vice president of New Jersey-based A.M. Best, which examines the financial conditions of insurance companies, said that Best originally projected a 5.8 percent premium volume growth for 2001 but that the figure could reach 8 percent to 8.5 percent.

"Early indications show growth to be up," Ryan said. "We continue to see signs, of further price firming of commercial lines through second quarter in pricing."

The …