Article ID: e0c64f40465b7e98ce4f5dd74923e471cc1abaa4e695c8b79b98ce312e199a21
Source ID: secondary:businessinsurance.com
Published At: -
Extraction Method: bs4_heuristic
URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/soft-property-market-contrasts-with-casualty-strains/
Body Text
Soft property market contrasts with casualty strains - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Soft property market contrasts with casualty strains by Claire Wilkinson Cyber Risks , Excess and Surplus Lines , General liability , P/C Pricing , Property May 12, 2026 PHILADELPHIA – Commercial insurance buyers continue to benefit from falling property rates, driven by ample capacity and intense competition, but brokers and underwriters say the pace of cuts is unsustainable. Meanwhile, casualty lines, particularly umbrella, excess liability and commercial auto liability, continue to increase due to rising loss severity. It will take a major catastrophe, such as an earthquake in a heavily populated area or a series of significant storms, to shift current market dynamics, they said during interviews at the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s Riskworld conference in Philadelphia last week. Insurers are deploying artificial intelligence, data and analytics to sharpen risk assessment and be more selective about the business they write, they said. The market remains “fragile,” said Michael Rouse, New York-based global placement leader U.S. and Canada at Marsh Risk. Property catastrophe rates fell by as much as 16% in the first quarter, while casualty pricing varied, with primary rates up single digits and excess casualty rate increases in the high teens, he said. A handful of property insurers have held firm on recent renewals, “but for the most part there’s still an ample supply of capacity,” Mr. Rouse said. Insurers are being “protective” of business that is a core part of their underwriting portfolio, he said. The large account property market is giving back many of the gains made during the hard market cycle, said Peter Caminiti, chief underwriting officer of Zurich North America in Schaumburg, Illinois. In the middle market and small business segments, the softening has been more subdued, “but they’re feeling the impact as well,” he said. “We have to be careful that we don’t go too far. Otherwise, we’re going to return to where we were with volatility and inadequate pricing,” Mr. Caminiti said. Casualty rate increases are “just barely keeping pace” with loss trends, he said. “There really is no margin improvement in that space and we’re not really dealing with some of the systemic issues that exist, like legal system abuse.” He said tort reform is needed, though some inroads have been made. Property The market is “cannibalizing itself,” said Alexandra Glickman, Los Angeles-based area vice chairman and senior managing director, global practice leader, real estate and hospitality at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. New capacity has flooded the market, despite continued catastrophe losses from wildfires and severe convective storms, she said. Shared and layered towers are “massively oversubscribed,” with some programs seeing a pricing difference of as much as 50% between incumbent insurers and newer entrants, Ms. Glickman said. Some managing general agents are prioritizing premium growth over underwriting profitability. “It’s destructive and undisciplined,” she said. “We’ve seen rates go down, but we’re focused on relationships,” said Michele Sansone, New York-based president and chief underwriting officer of property at Axa XL, a unit of Axa. Axa XL recently walked away from a property opportunity involving an aircraft hangar for customized jets, where another insurer had cut its line on the program, she said. “I went in with our price, and then somebody else came in, and they took another $100,000 to $200,000 off the price,” Ms. Sansone said. After some back-and-forth, Axa XL pulled out. “If you want a long-term relationship, it’s got to be a partnership, not just how cheap can the price be,” she said. Buyers should push brokers to optimize programs while market conditions remain favorable, said Duncan Milne, New York-based head of U.S. specialty at McGill and Partners. At a recent renewal, McGill secured several million dollars in savings for a heavy manufacturing client and $500 million in additional limits, he said. The brokerage’s recently announced partnership with American International Group provides an additional 25% in capacity on specialty business placed in the London market, he said. “That’s allowed us to further push off the expensive capacity that we have on programs and replace that with quality long-term capacity from AIG,” Mr. Milne said. Large property accounts are evaluated individually with a focus on policyholder commitment to risk prevention, said Tracey Ant, New York-based head of middle and large business at The Hartford. “We are not winning in places where the price is too low, and that is evidenced by our hit ratio. There’s pressure on that because a competitor may be willing to either go lower in price or put up terms that we just don’t feel are sustainable over time,” Ms. Ant said. Some buyers are maintaining or even increasing retentions and attachment points while exploring alternative risk options, said Will Porter, New York-based head of property U.S. and head of international programs at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Buyers may look to involve their captive insurer more as part of a long-term strategy, while others are using market savings to purchase parametric coverage “on top of their property program,” he said. Casualty Casualty lines remain the most challenging area of the commercial insurance market, said Tim DeSett, Kansas City, Missouri-based North American commercial lines president at Hub International. Businesses with large auto fleets, difficult products exposure and heightened premises risks with active shooter incidents are the toughest risks, he said. Umbrella coverage remains particularly challenging due to rising loss severity, while limited progress on tort reform has left uncertainty about when conditions will improve, Mr. DeSett said. Commercial auto rates vary by vehicle type and jurisdiction, said Dieter Korte, Chicago-based president, middle market, Global Risk Solutions North America at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Many companies have embraced telematics and in-vehicle cameras, but the technology is only effective if employers actively use the data to manage drivers, he said. Driver selection and training, cellphone policies and monitoring driver behavior, including distracted driving, can make a significant difference, Mr. Korte said. “Companies that are intelligent about that, it’s reflected in their loss history and, if they get into an accident, how defensible they are,” he said. Cyber liability insurance pricing has begun to firm in parts of the U.S. market, particularly among small and midsize enterprises, said Adrian Cox, CEO of Beazley. Increases began accelerating in February and March and continued into April, and they could extend further into the middle market, he said. Mr. Cox had previously voiced concerns that parts of the U.S. cyber market were underpriced. Beazley’s U.S. cyber business contracted last year largely because of a lack of new business, he said. “We just weren’t following the rates down,” he said. Related News No goodwill in crime film: lawsuit May 12, 2026 Skyward Specialty hires former Intact leader for E&S role May 12, 2026 Comp posts 91% combined ratio in 2025, extends underwriting gains May 12, 2026 US issues indictments in Baltimore bridge collapse May 12, 2026 Ryan Specialty appoints Jacob president of RT Connector May 12, 2026 Court denies motions by Brown & Brown and Howden in broker raid case May 12, 2026 Munich Re Q1 profit jumps on lower catastrophe losses May 12, 2026 Hannover Re’s profit jumps 48% May 12, 2026 Japan moves to cap corporate executives’ liability May 12, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. Never miss important news: Become a Business Insurance Online subscriber today Subscribe Now Information About Us Contact Advertise Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Copyright 2026. BUSINESS INSURANCE HOLDINGS Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Metadata (JSON)
{
"score": 25.5375
}