Willis, the insurance brokerage and risk advisory business of WTW, has released its autumn 2026 Insurance Marketplace Realities report, The Specialist View: Navigating Tomorrow’s Risk Landscape for 2027, reporting that rates for large and complex property risks fell by an average of 14.5% during the second quarter of 2026, compared with an 8.4% reduction during the same period in 2025.
The company attributed the decline to increased competition among insurers. Shared and layered property programmes, involving placements with five or more carriers, recorded an average rate reduction of 23.41% in the second quarter, compared with a 14.57% decline a year earlier.
According to Willis, property market conditions have continued to move away from the hard market experienced between 2018 and 2024, with pricing approaching levels last seen in 2019.
The report also considers how greater specialisation across insurance lines is being used to address changing client risk profiles. Willis said technology-related exposures are becoming increasingly relevant, particularly those associated with artificial intelligence and investment in data infrastructure.
“Clients are navigating a market being reshaped by specialization and technology at the same time,” added Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis. “The pace of change, particularly around AI and data infrastructure, means brokers can’t operate in silos. Our clients need advisors who connect the dots across their full risk profile.”
Willis reported that global insured catastrophe losses reached $107 billion in 2025, marking the sixth consecutive year in which losses exceeded $100 billion. The company noted, however, that insured catastrophe losses during the first half of 2026 were at their lowest level for the first half of a year since 2020.
Casualty insurance is showing different conditions to the property market, according to Willis. Auto liability and general and excess liability, including lead umbrella cover, for high-hazard risks remain under pressure. The company cited nuclear verdicts and social inflation among the factors affecting these lines.
Willis also identified early indications that rate increases in the excess casualty market may be approaching their peak. The company linked this partly to additional capacity entering the market through broker-led facilities, including WTW’s Gemini, as well as newly established managing general agents and underwriting agents.
“Rates and risk are no longer moving in the same direction across every line, and that gap is where our clients need the most guidance,” noted Bolig. “Property buyers have room to negotiate this cycle. Casualty and specialty buyers need to plan for a market that is still correcting for verdict severity and emerging technology risk.”
Cyber insurance pricing remained broadly stable, with Willis reporting movements of around 5% either side of flat. The report suggests that buyers consider using any premium savings to increase their limits, citing the continuing rise of AI-enabled ransomware and data exfiltration threats.
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