Commercial insurance buyers are entering 2027 with generally improving market conditions, particularly in property insurance, according to Willis, a WTW business.
WTW’s Insurance Marketplace Realities 2027 report examines pricing and market conditions across more than 30 commercial insurance lines in North America. The report finds growing competition and capacity in several areas, although casualty and certain specialty lines continue to face pricing pressure.
Commercial property has experienced some of the largest reductions. Rates for large and complex property programs fell an average of 14.5% during the second quarter of 2026, compared with an 8.4% decline during the same period in 2025.
Shared and layered property programs involving five or more insurers recorded even larger reductions, averaging 23.41%. WTW said increased insurer competition and favorable reinsurance conditions have helped move property pricing away from the hard market experienced from 2018 through 2024.
Casualty insurance remains more challenging. Auto liability and certain general and excess liability risks continue to face pressure from rising claim severity, social inflation and large jury awards. However, WTW sees indications that excess casualty rate increases may be approaching their peak as additional capacity enters the market.
Workers’ compensation remains one of the more stable casualty lines, supported by favorable underwriting results and insurer competition.
Cyber insurance also remains competitive, with WTW forecasting rate changes ranging from a 5% decrease to a 5% increase. Despite favorable pricing and available capacity, the report warns that ransomware, data theft and artificial intelligence-enabled cyber threats continue to increase potential losses.
Jackie Bolig, head of placement and broking solutions for North America at Willis, said pricing and underlying risk are no longer moving in the same direction across every insurance line. Property buyers currently have greater negotiating opportunities, while casualty and specialty buyers still need to account for claim severity and emerging technology risks.
Other factors expected to influence the insurance market heading into 2027 include climate volatility, geopolitical instability, tariffs, third-party litigation funding, digital dependencies and the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Overall, WTW’s report points to a more favorable commercial insurance environment for many buyers, but with significant differences between individual coverage lines and risk profiles.
Information for this article was provided by WTW. Views and claims expressed in this article are those of the source company and do not necessarily reflect the views of AgencyEquity.com. This article may have been edited with the help of AI.
