US P&C underwriting gain jumps to $31.7 billion

The useful part

Net written premiums increased 2.1%, compared with 5.2% in the first half of 2025 and 10.8% in the equivalent period of 2024. "In good news for policyholders, premium increases continued to moderate in the first half of 2026, falling below general inflation and building materials and labor costs. That moderation is showing up most clearly in commercial property, where stronger insurer capital and expanding capacity are putting more pressure on pricing.

How it works

• Marsh 's second-quarter US pricing data showed an even steeper property decline, with US commercial property rates falling 13%.
• Marsh found US casualty rates increased 7% in Q2, and 11% excluding workers' compensation.
• Some carriers were using decreases in property and workers' compensation to offset increases required in umbrella and commercial auto.
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• Guy Carpenter 's July renewal data showed its global property catastrophe rate-on-line index falling 16% at midyear, reflecting continued competition in the reinsurance market and adding another source of...

What to take from it

Brokers' second-quarter market survey found average commercial premiums fell 2% across all account sizes in Q2, led by a 6.3% decline in commercial property. Catastrophe-exposed programs with more than $1 million in premium recorded average reductions of 20%, while smaller non-catastrophe programs fell 10%. After several years of harder pricing, the shift is giving attractive property risks more leverage at renewal.

Example or evidence

• Three-quarters of respondents reported increased property capacity, while some large accounts saw renewal decreases exceeding 10%, alongside higher sublimits and lower deductibles.
• Small accounts also declined, down 0.5%, making the softening broadly distributed rather than confined to the largest buyers.
• part of a global composite that has now decreased for eight consecutive quarters.
• Umbrella premiums increased 5.3% and commercial auto rose 4.5%, while 40% of respondents reported reduced umbrella capacity.

Details worth keeping

Premium growth slowed sharply at the same time. Casualty, however, is moving in the opposite direction. "While insured natural-catastrophe losses provided a temporary reprieve in the first half of 2026, bodily injury and commercial liability losses continued to worsen.

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