The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry posted a much higher net underwriting gain of $31.7 billion for the first half of 2026, up from $11.6 billion the prior year.
According to a report from data analytics and technology firm Verisk and industry trade association the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), net written premium growth for the industry slowed to 2.1%, compared with growth of 5.2% a year ago, showing an overall shift to moderated rate increases.
Property insurance softened during H1 but casualty lines such as excess liability, umbrella liability, and commercial auto, remained under pressure from increased claim severity nuclear verdicts and medical costs, Verisk and APCIA said.
Net income after taxes increased 53% to $77.8 billion for the first half 2026. More gains from investments bolstered profitability but “catastrophe exposure remains elevated,” the groups warned.
“While overall industry profitability improved in the first half of 2026, largely due to a decline in insured natural-catastrophe losses compared to the first half of 2025 following the Los Angeles wildfires, insurers’ loss experience and profitability varied widely from state to state,” said Robert Gordon, senior vice president of policy, research and international at APCIA.
“In states that have enacted meaningful legal system abuse reforms, including Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, many policyholders have begun to experience reductions in auto and homeowners’ insurance rates that are expected to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in premium relief,” Gordon added.
Policyholders’ surplus increased to $1.30 trillion, compared with $1.13 trillion at midyear 2025.
“While we would have preferred a different outcome, we appreciate the meaningful safeguards the Court placed around confidential information,” a State Farm spokesperson said in an email Thursday. “The ruling requires recipients of confidential information to abide by the protective order, and preserves the court’s authority to enforce those protections, including requirements to return or destroy materials when those cases conclude.”
The lower court’s decision, allowing significant sharing of confidential claims handling procedures, had generated widespread concern among insurers, business groups and legal organizations. It resulted in no fewer than three friend-of-the-court briefs that urged the high court to overturn or rein in the circuit court’s ruling.
