NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Most Lines of Business Softening, Litigation Influencing Others, The Council’s Q1 2025 P/C Market Survey Shows
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Premiums across all account sizes rose by an average of 4.2% in Q1 2025, a 22% decrease from the 5.4% reported by respondents in Q4 2024. This marks the 30th consecutive quarter of increases for all account sizes.
Increases for medium accounts slowed the most out of all account sizes, coming in at an average of 3.6% for Q1 2025. This was a 42% decrease from Q4’s average increase of 6.4%. Respondents pointed to more competition and flexibility from underwriters, with one respondent from a large Northwestern firm summarizing it as “carriers were starting to re-engage in the middle market.”
Softened market conditions were also present in the lines of business. With the exception of commercial auto and umbrella, all lines of business showed lower premium increases in Q1 2025 than in Q4 2024. Five lines recorded decreases in premiums—cyber, D&O, employment practices, terrorism, and workers compensation. More carrier competition was also seen in D&O, along with a “continued influx in capacity,” according to a May 2025 state of the D&O market report.
Respondents identified third-party litigation funding (TPLF) as a key influence on several market conditions, encompassing frequency and severity of claims, premium, and even coverage terms and conditions like limits or sublimits. Across the board, respondents agreed that TPLF pushing up verdict size had the greatest effect on premiums for the commercial auto and umbrella lines of business—and survey results showed that those lines had the highest increases in premiums out of all lines, at 10.4% and 9.5%, respectively. Impacted lines also saw additional underwriter scrutiny and lower limits, or even no available limits for certain types of risk.
As one respondent from a large Southwestern firm put it, “Third-party litigation funding is hurting the consumer.”