It appears as though auto and home insurers have caught up, appropriately matching premium to risk in their portfolios. According to a new report fro
m insurance industry rating agency AM Best, rate increases for homeowners and private pa
nificant rate increases as insurers’ underwriting profits wound up in the red. In 2025, the average app
roved rate increase for homeowners insurance was 8.3% compared with 13.5% in 2024. For auto, rates went up 3.7% in 2025 versus up 9.7% in 2024.
For five of the six years from 2018 to 2023, homeowners insurers netted underwriting losses, but 2025 results “showed continued improvement as the in
dustry produced an underwriting profit of more than $16 billion for the homeowners line, the first such
profit in five years,” thanks to no hurricane landfalls and a “more willing” reinsurance market, AM Best said.
The graph on the top right shows average direct loss ratios and the average approved r
ates for 10 states with the highest 2024 homeowners direct premiums written, representing about 54% of the homeowners market. Lower direct loss ratios reflected better cat
astrophe management, tighter underwriting, and adjusted risk appetites, AM Best said.
In auto, carriers’ “refined underwriting techniques and technological enhancements” we
re credited in improving loss and expense ratios to reduce the need for large rate increases. Auto insurers
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in the aggregate recorded an underwriting gain of nearly $29 billion in 2025 after a loss of nearly $17 billion just two years prior.
After more than two years of company-building and fundraising, Tampa-based Sypher Insurance Exchange has won its certificate of authority and a fina
ncial rating. The stamps of approval mark Sypher’s official entry into the market as the first property i
nsurer with significant investment from insurance agents.
Sypher CEO and Founder Subhashish Dutta called it the start of “new era” for the Florida property insurance.
“We bring a fundamentally different approach to sustainable capacity in Florida,” Dutta sai
d in a statement. “Over the past two years, we have built an integrated platform that brings together ins
urance, reinsurance, and technology from day one.”
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation last week granted the COA, making Sypher the 21st n
ew property insurer to enter the Florida market since 2022 legislative changes that helped ease exce
ssive claims litigation costs for carriers.
That COA was followed by a “BBB” financial strength rating from the KBRA rating firm on Monday, June 1.
