Commercial property rates post sharpest decline in a decade, Willis report finds
Key Highlights
- ➤Large property rates fell 14.5% in Q2 2026, versus 8.4% a year earlier
- ➤Shared and layered property programs saw average declines of 23.41%
- ➤Property pricing returned toward levels last seen in 2019
- ➤Excess casualty rate increases may be nearing their peak
- ➤Cyber rates held roughly flat, ranging from a 5% decrease to a 5% increase
Expert Statements
Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis
“Clients are navigating a market being reshaped by specialization and technology at the same time.”
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.”
Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis
“Our clients need advisors who connect the dots across their full risk profile.”
Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis
“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.”
Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis
“Property buyers have room to negotiate this cycle.”
Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for North America at Willis
“Casualty and specialty buyers need to plan for a market that is still correcting for verdict severity and emerging technology risk.”
NEW YORK, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Willis, a WTW business (NASDAQ: WTW), today released the fall 2026 edition of its Insurance Marketplace Realities report, examining rate predictions and market conditions across more than thirty lines of commercial insurance in North America.
Large and complex property rates fell an average of 14.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 8.4 percent a year earlier, as competition among insurers intensified. Shared and layered programs, placements with five or more carriers, saw average declines of 23.41 percent, up from 14.57 percent in the second quarter of 2025. The market has now moved from the depths of the 2018 through 2024 hard market toward pricing last seen in 2019.
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