FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Soft Market Took Shape in Q2 2026, According to The Council’s P&C Market Survey
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In Q2 2026, P&C survey respondents reported an average decrease in premiums across all account sizes of 2.0%; this follows a decrease in premiums across all account sizes in Q1 for the first time since 2017. Large account premiums decreased by 3.7% following a 2.7% decrease last quarter. Medium account decreases held steady at 1.9%, and small accounts decreased slightly, by an average of 0.5%.
Premiums shrank for ten lines of business this quarter (one more than in Q1): business interruption, commercial property, construction risks, cyber, D&O, employment practices, flood, marine, terrorism, and workers compensation. Property premiums dropped the most out of all lines for the second consecutive quarter, averaging a 6.3% decrease. Cyber and workers compensation both averaged a 3.2% decrease, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of decreases for the former and the eighteenth for the latter.
On the other hand, umbrella premiums rose by an average of 5.3% in Q2 2026, reversing a moderating trend begun in Q2 2025. This was the highest increase out of all lines and was also the 35th consecutive quarter of premium increases for umbrella. Commercial auto had the next highest increase at 4.5%.
It was not coincidental that umbrella and commercial auto had the two highest premium increases out of all lines: nuclear verdicts tied to commercial auto accidents were one of the main sources of difficulty for the umbrella line of business, translating to lower limits and reduced capacity. Forty percent of respondents noted a decrease in umbrella capacity this quarter.
In line with that, one of the reasons respondents gave for the property decreases was that carriers attempted to offset the increases that market conditions required in umbrella and commercial auto with decreases elsewhere, primarily in workers compensation and commercial property. On top of that, 75% of respondents reported an increase in property capacity, suggesting a surplus in capacity, which typically also exerts downward pressure on prices. According to respondents, these more beneficial market conditions resulted in renewals dropping more than 10% for large property accounts and a “big shift” downward for medium accounts, as well as higher sublimits and lower deductibles, particularly for wind and hail.
P&C Market Survey Contact:
Zach West
Senior Content Specialist/Copy Chief, Leader’s Edge
