Efficiencies yet to crack commercial lines: commercial-lines leaders want to emulate the success...

Some of the best practices that have made auto insurers Geico and Progressive so successful are beginning to penetrate into the commercial-lines segment, where there's still plenty of room to cut costs, according to analysts.

"Best practices is starting to trickle into the commercial markets," said Deborah Smallwood, managing director, insurance, for the management consulting firm Tower Group Inc. "The overall trend in property/ casualty is about gaining market share."

The "new assumptions" under which leaders of the commercial-lines segments are operating d