In it’s latest report Personal Lines Success: To Grow, Specialise or Retreat? Insurance and reinsurance advisory firm Stonybrook Capital & Risk Management says the Personal Lines market is increasingly separating into two broad strategies: insurers pursuing scale and those focusing on specialist underwriting.
Stonybrook explains that Personal Lines can still deliver attractive returns, but insurers need either sufficient scale or a clear area of underwriting expertise. Its analysis shows that a number of large insurers have reduced their exposure to Personal Lines, with capital increasingly being directed towards Commercial and specialist business.
According to Stonybrook, scale is particularly relevant to more standardised products such as Personal Auto and Homeowners. Large datasets, segmentation, automation, direct distribution and broader geographic reach can support this model. The firm cites Progressive, GEICO and State Farm as examples of insurers using scale and data across Personal Lines.
Stonybrook also identifies specialist underwriting as another route, particularly for coastal and catastrophe-exposed property, non-standard motor, very-high-net-worth homes and difficult regulatory or judicial markets. It points to Chubb’s work in very-high-net-worth Homeowners and Heritage’s approach to property and catastrophe underwriting as examples of specialist strategies.
The shift is also reflected in the geographic strategies of US insurers. Stonybrook’s analysis shows fewer major carriers concentrating their operations in only a small number of states, with more insurers expanding their geographic footprint. The firm says broader coverage can help spread catastrophe exposure, although expansion requires sufficient scale and an operating model that can be replicated across markets.
Stonybrook describes the US Personal Lines market as having improved following several years of rate increases and underwriting action. However, the firm notes that rate increases are moderating, particularly in Personal Auto, while Homeowners continues to face catastrophe volatility, rising replacement costs and geographic concentration.
The firm also points to a number of insurers that have reduced or exited Personal Lines. One Upper Midwest mutual stopped writing new Home and Auto business in November 2023 following sustained losses and completed its Personal Lines run-off in December 2025. Stonybrook says Personal Lines represented 20% of its book in 2023 but had fallen to zero by 2025.
United Fire Group provides another example. Stonybrook says the insurer pursued a strategic shift towards Commercial Lines, announcing its Personal Lines exit in 2020 through a renewal rights agreement with Nationwide. By 2025, Commercial Lines represented 99% of the book, compared with 93% in 2019, while Personal Lines had fallen from 7% to 1%.
Outside the US, Stonybrook says Personal Lines strategies vary by market. In the UK, consolidation has included Aviva’s acquisition of Direct Line Group and Ageas’s expansion through acquisitions, while RSA and Zurich have reduced their exposure to selected mass-market Personal Lines activities.
Stonybrook also highlights different models in Canada and continental Europe, where regulation, distribution and market structure continue to shape insurers’ strategies. Gibraltar is identified as a specialist motor underwriting centre, with insurers focusing on areas including taxis, motorcycles and heavy trucks.
The analysis comes as Stonybrook continues to expand its international platform. The firm recently appointed Adam Fox as CEO of International. Based in London, Fox is responsible for developing Stonybrook’s international business and supporting its US operations, particularly its relationships with the Lloyd’s of London marketplace.
Stonybrook’s analysis suggests that Personal Lines insurers are increasingly choosing between scale, geographic diversification and specialist underwriting, with some carriers reducing their exposure where they do not have sufficient scale or a differentiated market position.
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