Best's Special Report: Challenging Market Conditions Yield Opportunities for Surplus Lines' Insurers
In a new Best's Special Report, AM Best notes that one key benchmark indicates a 12.1% year-over-year premium increase in 2024 for surplus lines' insurers reporting data to the 15 individual state service and stamping offices nationwide. Across the past three years (2022-2024), premiums produced by the service and stamping offices increased by 28.8%. The contributors to the growth include lines of business directly experiencing turbulence post-COVID from macroeconomic pressures.
'Although personal lines coverage, specifically homeowners' insurance, remains a relatively small part of the overall surplus lines market, increased writings in that segment have contributed to the consistent premium growth for surplus lines—or nonadmitted—insurers,' said David Blades, associate director, AM Best. 'Many states, in addition to multiple lines of business, have been key contributors to the momentum buoying the surplus lines market.'
Similar to the premium generated across the broader property/casualty market, California, Florida, Texas and New York consistently account for the largest share of surplus lines premium. The report notes that even before the devastating California wildfires earlier this year, extreme weather that included heavy rains and mudslides led to unfavorable results for admitted writers of homeowners and commercial property coverage, prompting many companies to reassess their risk appetite.
'The California property market is likely to face more challenges in the near term, and surplus lines' insurers could look to fill supply gaps as more admitted insurers become reluctant to provide market capacity in areas of the state,' Blades said.
Surplus lines' insurers have had the flexibility to meet demand during tough market times, which has led to surplus lines' homeowners' premium more than doubling during the last six years, from $1.0 billion in 2018 to $2.2 billion in 2023. During this time, the P/C industry's year-over-year homeowners market profitability has exhibited a higher-than-normal level of volatility.
The report also found that coverages falling under the general liability banner have combined to represent the largest portion of the surplus lines market consistently from a direct premium written perspective. Initial data aggregations for 2024 indicate an almost 10 percentage point deterioration in the P/C industry's net incurred loss ratio for the other liability (occurrence) coverage line, which represents the larger of the two general liability coverage lines.
To access a copy of this special report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=353204.
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