Since January 2026, the private risk market continues to stabilize, but the forces shaping personal insurance have become more interconnected. Catastrophe volatility, litigation severity, cyber threats, economic uncertainty, and technological change are influencing coverage outcomes and how successful households approach protection. As risk becomes more dynamic, periodic insurance reviews give way to continuous assessment.
Introduction
At the midyear point, market conditions remain uneven across personal lines. Homeowners insurance is improving in some regions but remains constrained where persistent weather losses influence underwriting and coverage availability. Auto insurers have largely restored profitability following years of corrective pricing, allowing rate momentum to moderate and competition to reemerge. Umbrella liability remains challenged by rising claim severity and legal system abuse. In many markets, access to coverage has become as important as price.
The definition of personal risk is also expanding. Cybersecurity has emerged as a leading concern for successful individuals and families, while digital, reputational, and lifestyle-related exposures play a larger role in coverage decisions. Personalization is becoming a defining feature of the market, with standardized solutions giving way to tailored approaches that reflect each household’s unique assets, priorities, and risk profile. AI-driven underwriting, connected-home tools, and digital claims capabilities are accelerating more granular risk assessment and management.
Yet as insurance decisions become more data-driven, demand for trusted guidance is growing. Successful individuals and families increasingly value advisors who can interpret market conditions, evaluate tradeoffs, and align coverage decisions with wealth-preservation goals. The Baldwin Group brings expertise, market access, and specialized insight to help clients navigate this environment, building protection strategies that account for today’s complexity and preserve flexibility for what comes next.
Home insurance
Stabilization emerges as insurers reward mitigation investments
| The Baldwin Group client rate trend | Capacity and outlook |
|---|---|
| Moderating upward | Improving selectively; uneven by geography and risk profile |
Overview
The homeowners insurance market has reached a period of cautious stabilization following years of corrective pricing and underwriting discipline. Insurer profitability has improved, supporting renewed competition for preferred risks, but elevated catastrophe losses, rebuild costs, and reinsurance expenses continue to limit relief for many homeowners. Market conditions remain highly dependent on geography and exposure profile.
Growing reliance on residual markets and alternative risk-transfer solutions underscores the structural pressures shaping coverage availability. As insurers shift from broad rate increases toward more disciplined exposure management, access to coverage is becoming as important as price.
Homeowners loss ratio by peril
Source: Verisk1
Market dynamics
- Underwriting scrutiny – Severe weather losses and rising claims severity continue to drive underwriting discipline, with pricing, eligibility, and deductibles increasingly tied to property characteristics and mitigation efforts.
- Capacity stabilization – Improved insurer performance is supporting greater competition, though catastrophe exposure and rising repair costs continue to limit premium relief.
- Flood protection gaps – Flood remains one of the largest uninsured exposures, with many homeowners underestimating risk despite growing private-market options.
- Advanced analytics – AI-assisted underwriting, aerial imagery, and property-level analytics are driving greater risk differentiation and underwriting precision.
- Rebuild costs – Rising labor, material, and specialty-construction costs continue increasing claims severity, particularly for custom and high-value homes.
- High-value property – Competition is improving for newer and well-mitigated high-value homes, while capacity remains constrained for older, highly customized, and catastrophe-exposed properties, particularly above $10M in value.
- Market fragmentation – Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plans, excess and surplus (E&S) markets, and alternative capacity providers are expanding their role as coverage availability becomes more localized.
- Non-traditional property use – Short-term rentals and other alternative property uses are creating coverage gaps and liability exposures that often require specialized insurance solutions.
- Secondary residences – Seasonal and intermittently occupied properties face heightened underwriting scrutiny due to delayed-loss detection, catastrophe exposure, and liability concerns.
- Water-loss prevention – Water damage remains one of the most frequent and costly loss drivers, increasing underwriting scrutiny and mitigation requirements.
- Renovation and valuation risk – Coverage updates often lag renovation activity and rising rebuild costs, creating potential gaps in replacement-cost protection.
- Regulatory pressures – Rate adequacy challenges and regulatory constraints are influencing market availability and growth in residual and non-admitted markets.
Loss and resilience snapshot
Sources: Insurance Information Institute,2 Associated Builders and Contractors,3 Insurance Business,4 Property Casualty 360,5 Chubb,6 The Wall Street Journal7
Key watchpoints
California and Colorado test different paths forward
California and Colorado are two of the most closely watched homeowners insurance markets in the country. Their approaches may help shape how other states respond to growing availability and affordability challenges. Both face mounting pressure from catastrophe losses and capacity constraints, yet each is pursuing a different path toward market stability.
California is pursuing regulatory reforms that expand the use of catastrophe modeling and reinsurance costs in rate filings to encourage insurer participation and reduce reliance on the FAIR Plan. Colorado is emphasizing mitigation, resilience investments, and risk transparency to address loss drivers before they reach the insurance system. Together, these markets highlight an important question: whether long-term stability is best achieved through pricing reform, risk reduction, or a combination of both.
Mitigation shapes insurability
Resilience is increasingly influencing eligibility, pricing, and renewal decisions as insurers place greater emphasis on property-level mitigation. Defensible space, impact-resistant construction, fortified roofing, and other hardening measures are becoming key differentiators, particularly in catastrophe-exposed regions.
State-led resilience initiatives continue to expand. Programs supporting Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) building standards and FORTIFIED upgrades are gaining traction through grants, building-code enhancements, and insurance incentives. As catastrophe losses persist, alignment between insurers and policymakers on resilience initiatives reflects a broader market shift toward rewarding mitigation and reducing loss potential before disasters occur.
Preparedness and maintenance trends
- 81% – Homebuyers and renovators prioritizing resilience
- 37% – Homeowners installing smart-home technology for insurance savings
- 20,000+ – New FORTIFIED home designations in 2025, a record high
- 14 states – Participating in the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home expansion
Sources: Chubb,8 Nationwide,9 Insurance Information Institute,10 HousingWire11
Technology supports smarter risk management
Connected-home technologies are becoming more important to underwriting and loss prevention. Water leak detection systems, automatic shutoff valves, environmental monitoring, and security technologies can reduce the frequency and severity of common homeowners claims. Insurers are placing greater value on technologies that improve visibility, reduce loss potential, and support proactive risk management.
Some insurers now offer premium credits and other incentives for approved smart-home technologies. Adoption is especially valuable for seasonal residences, vacant properties, and high-value homes, where real-time monitoring can help prevent small incidents from becoming significant losses.
Looking ahead
Regional capacity constraints will persist as insurers refine catastrophe models, exposure management strategies, and pricing assumptions. While competition is improving for resilient properties, availability challenges are expected to remain for catastrophe-exposed, high-value, and complex homes due to concentration risk and rebuild cost pressures. FAIR Plans, residual markets, and E&S utilization are likely to remain elevated as admitted-market recovery unfolds unevenly across regions.
Mitigation frameworks, resilience incentives, and home-hardening programs are expected to gain momentum as insurers and policymakers seek long-term solutions to affordability and availability challenges. Advanced analytics and connected-home technologies will play a larger role in underwriting decisions, while flood protection gaps and coverage adequacy concerns remain persistent risks through 2026.
Recommendations
Stronger insurability starts with accurate valuations, proactive maintenance, and effective risk management. The Baldwin Group helps homeowners preserve coverage access, improve resilience, and navigate evolving market conditions:
Auto insurance
Profitability improves as pricing becomes more individualized
| The Baldwin Group client rate trend | Capacity and outlook |
|---|---|
| Moderating with selective decreases | Broadly available with selective underwriting |
Overview
The personal auto market has largely completed its profitability recovery following several years of aggressive rate increases, underwriting actions, and claims-cost deterioration. Insurer results have improved significantly, and rate decreases are emerging in select markets for the first time in years, marking a meaningful shift from the corrective pricing cycle that defined the post-pandemic period.
Stability does not mean costs are returning to pre-COVID levels. Repair expenses, vehicle complexity, litigation trends, and risky driving behaviors are pressuring loss costs, limiting the extent of premium relief. Competition is increasing as rate momentum moderates, but insurers remain focused on sustaining profitability through more individualized pricing, data-driven underwriting, and disciplined risk selection. Cost pressures have also prompted many consumers to reevaluate coverage structures, driving greater interest in bundled solutions and alignment across auto and homeowners programs.
Personal auto premium change moderation
Source: Verisk12
Market dynamics
- Underwriting scrutiny – AI, predictive analytics, and vehicle-level data are increasing underwriting precision, while climate risks, litigation, and regulatory trends continue influencing outcomes by state.
- Cost pressures – Underwriting performance has strengthened, but elevated repair costs, litigation activity, and claims severity continue limiting premium relief.
- Telematics adoption – Usage-based insurance programs are expanding as insurers place emphasis on driving behavior and real-time risk data, with more consumers viewing telematics as a pathway to premium savings.
- Vehicle complexity – Safety systems, EV components, sensors, and software integration are increasing repair complexity and costs, even after minor collisions.
- Digital engagement – Insurers are investing in digital platforms to drive acquisition, retention, and satisfaction as consumers embrace self-service technology.
- Specialty and collector cars – Collector, exotic, and performance vehicles require specialized valuations, repairs, and coverage. Rapid appreciation in collector vehicle values is increasing underinsurance risk, making regular appraisals and agreed-value reviews essential, particularly where insurers reduce agreed values at renewal.
- Liability pressures – Litigation funding, legal advertising, uninsured motorists, and medical inflation continue elevating liability claim severity and defense costs.
- Weather-related losses – Hail, flood, wildfire, and SCS events continue increasing claims activity, reinforcing the relationship between property and auto risk.
- Consumer shopping – Despite moderating rate increases, shopping activity remains elevated as consumers seek savings and reassess coverage, making retention and customer experience insurer priorities.
- Repair inflation – Tariffs, supply-chain pressures, vehicle complexity, and technician shortages continue increasing repair costs and claims severity.
- Cross-line bundling – Rising homeowners premiums and elevated shopping activity are increasing demand for bundled solutions as consumers seek cost savings and coverage alignment.
- Vehicle theft – Theft frequency has improved, but geographic hotspots and vehicle-specific risks continue influencing pricing and underwriting outcomes.
Performance and loss trends
Sources: Insurance Information Institute,13 Insurance Business,14 Verisk,15 Property Casualty 360,16 Intelligent Insurer17
Key watchpoints
Driving behavior and claims impact
Though insurers have stabilized financial performance through pricing actions, risky driving behaviors continue contributing to elevated accident frequency and severity despite greater public awareness and enforcement efforts. Distracted driving and speeding violations have risen sharply, with telematics data showing these behaviors increasingly occurring simultaneously. Driver stress, congestion, and road rage are becoming more common contributors to unsafe driving environments.
For successful individuals and families, concerns extend beyond individual driving habits, particularly for households with newly licensed drivers. Insurers are expanding telematics programs and behavioral-risk tools, but driving behavior remains one of the most difficult variables to predict and control, reinforcing the importance of driver education, risk awareness, and ongoing family conversations about safe driving habits.
Driving behavior and safety trends
- 91% – Parents concerned about their teen’s driving habits
- 91% – Consumers reporting other drivers use phones more often than a year ago
- 37% – Drivers admitting to reading messages while driving
- 90% – Consumers describing other drivers as more aggressive
- 33% – Drivers experiencing road rage from other motorists
- ~50% – Drivers who exceeded the speed limit by 15+ mph during the past month
Bodily injury loss trend divergence
While physical damage trends are stabilizing, bodily injury losses are moving in the opposite direction. Medical inflation, litigation activity, and attorney involvement contribute to higher claim severity and longer resolution timelines. Attorney solicitation following accidents remains common, while medical liens, settlement advances, and other litigation-financing mechanisms continue expanding the financial scope of injury claims.
Rising bodily injury costs continue influencing pricing, underwriting, and coverage decisions, widening the gap between improving physical damage results and persistent liability pressures. Though litigation reforms are progressing, liability costs could undermine recent market improvements. For successful households, less predictable and more expensive claims outcomes reinforce the importance of adequate liability protection.
Source: CLM8720
Coverage for emerging transportation models
Autonomous vehicle adoption continues expanding despite unresolved questions around liability allocation among manufacturers, operators, insurers, and technology providers. E-bikes, scooters, and other micromobility solutions are also creating exposures and liability considerations that many traditional policies were not designed to address. As adoption grows, regular coverage reviews help identify potential gaps before a loss occurs.
Looking ahead
Competition is expected to continue if insurer profitability holds, with telematics, service quality, and customer engagement becoming key differentiators as rate momentum moderates. Pricing will become more individualized with the expansion of telematics, behavioral data, and advanced analytics. Consumers who engage with these programs may be better positioned to access favorable pricing and coverage options.
Liability severity, litigation activity, and driver behavior remain key headwinds, while vehicle technology, repair complexity, and supply-chain pressures continue testing claims economics. Autonomous and micromobility exposures will remain an evolving area requiring ongoing coverage review as adoption accelerates. As personal risks become increasingly interconnected, bundled solutions and coordinated protection strategies are expected to play a larger role in consumer decision-making through 2026.
Recommendations
Strong protection on the road starts with informed choices about coverage, safety, and technology. The Baldwin Group partners with drivers to build resilient protection plans, manage premiums, and stay ahead of emerging auto trends:
Explore our insights in “Collector Car Insurance” to learn how specialized coverage for high-value, exotic, or vintage vehicles differs from standard auto policies — and why specialized coverage is essential.
Cyber coverage
Digital threats expand, making personal cyber coverage essential
| The Baldwin Group client rate trend | Capacity and outlook |
|---|---|
| Flat to decreasing | Stable with expanding participation |
Overview
Personal cyber coverage has evolved well beyond identity theft protection. Connected devices, digital payment platforms, cloud services, social media, and AI are expanding cyber exposure, while financial fraud, social engineering, deepfake scams, ransomware, and account takeover schemes increasingly affect individuals and families directly.
The market is evolving in response, expanding from narrow endorsements into broader solutions that combine financial protection, incident response, and proactive risk-management services. Awareness is growing, but preparedness continues to lag, reinforcing the need for stronger digital resilience and informed coverage decisions.
Prevalence of experiencing types of scam in last 12 months
Source: GASA21
Market dynamics
Underwriting evolution – Insurers increasingly require pre-bind risk assessments, security questionnaires, and verified cyber hygiene before issuing a policy.
Coverage variation – Definitions, services, limits, and response capabilities vary significantly across insurers and products.
Awareness and preparedness – Consumer awareness of cyber threats and available insurance solutions is improving, but preparedness and adoption of protective measures lag.
Coverage evolution – Personal cyber solutions are expanding beyond identity theft to address a broader range of cyber threats, with access to specialists and recovery assistance becoming key coverage differentiators.
Cyber resilience – Insurers are placing greater emphasis on prevention through multi-factor authentication (MFA), device security, network monitoring, and other proactive risk-management measures, combining monitoring and prevention tools with coverage.
Targeted attacks – Successful households remain particularly attractive targets for bad actors due to greater financial assets, digital activity, and public visibility.
Protection alignment – Cyber discussions should occur alongside umbrella liability and broader asset-protection planning as digital, financial, and reputational risks become more interconnected.
Personal cyber risk and protection gaps
Sources: Insurance Business,22 FBI,23 Chubb24
Key watchpoints
AI-powered scams and threat evolution
Social engineering, financial fraud, account takeover, ransomware, and deepfake-enabled scams continue increasing in sophistication, frequency, and financial impact. AI is accelerating this evolution by making cyber threats more convincing, scalable, and difficult to detect. Threat actors are using AI to create realistic phishing messages, voice cloning schemes, and highly personalized impersonation attacks that many consumers are unprepared to recognize.
AI is lowering barriers for cybercriminals while increasing potential losses, shifting cybercrime from technical attacks toward manipulation and deception. Insurers, cybersecurity experts, and regulators increasingly identify AI-enabled fraud as one of the most significant emerging personal cyber threats, while the pace of change continues to surpass household preparedness.
Personal cyber as a core protection
Cyber incidents increasingly affect finances, reputations, family relationships, and emotional wellbeing, extending beyond devices and data alone. As a result, personal cyber coverage is now viewed as a core component of household protection rather than a supplemental insurance product.
Cyberbullying, online defamation, elder fraud, digital financial theft, and social media exposure are broadening the scope of personal cyber risk across household members and generations. As awareness grows, coverage decisions increasingly reflect each household’s unique digital footprint and risk profile.
Source: Chubb25
Personal and professional cyber risks converge
Remote work, connected devices, and digital lifestyles continue blurring the distinction between household and business cyber exposure. A cyber incident affecting a personal device or home network can create pathways into workplace systems, while breaches involving employers, healthcare providers, financial institutions, and other organizations can create downstream consequences for individuals and families.
The interconnected nature of modern cyber risk is challenging traditional assumptions about where responsibility begins and ends. Effective protection requires consideration of exposures that span both personal and professional environments.
Looking ahead
AI-enabled cybercrime is expected to continue increasing in sophistication and frequency, requiring ongoing product innovation and stronger cyber resilience. Personal cyber adoption is likely to expand as awareness grows and coverage becomes more integrated into broader personal risk-management strategies. Prevention, monitoring, and recovery services will become increasingly prominent components of cyber protection.
Regulatory attention around AI fraud, data privacy, and consumer-device security is expected to increase, influencing coverage design and risk-management practices. The convergence of personal, professional, and household cyber exposures will further reinforce the need for protection strategies that address a broader digital footprint rather than isolated cyber risks.
Recommendations
As cyber risk becomes a core component of household protection, proactive planning is increasingly important. The Baldwin Group helps individuals and families strengthen digital resilience and prepare for evolving threats:
Personal and professional cyber exposures are increasingly interconnected, particularly for business owners, executives, and households with complex digital footprints. The Baldwin Group’s commercial risk and private risk specialists collaborate to help individuals address cyber risks that extend across personal, professional, and business environments through coordinated protection strategies.
Umbrella Liability
Liability severity persists as exposure complexity grows
| The Baldwin Group client rate trend | Capacity and outlook |
|---|---|
| Moderating increases | Available with higher-limit scrutiny |
Overview
The personal umbrella market has moved beyond its most acute period of disruption, but the forces driving liability severity remain firmly in place. Social inflation, litigation funding, nuclear verdicts, and rising defense costs continue shaping underwriting decisions and limiting higher-limit capacity. Capacity is generally available for preferred risks, though households with complex exposures may face greater underwriting scrutiny.
Umbrella coverage is a core component of personal asset protection, not simply an extension of underlying home and auto policies. Expanding liability exposures are prompting more households to reassess whether existing liability limits align with today’s legal and financial environment.
Market dynamics
Underwriting scrutiny – Capacity is generally available, but insurers remain selective, placing greater emphasis on driving records, youthful operators, recreational exposures, prior losses, and higher-limit placements.
Liability severity – Social inflation, litigation funding, legal advertising, and nuclear verdicts continue elevating claim severity and defense costs, particularly for auto-related bodily injury claims.
Public profile exposure – Underwriters increasingly consider public visibility, social media activity, and lifestyle indicators when evaluating higher-limit liability placements.
Strategic bundling – Insurers increasingly offer favorable coverage terms for policyholders who combine umbrella coverage with home and auto policies.
Layered placements – Capacity remains available for most households, but higher-limit placements often require layered structures, additional underwriting review, and coordination among multiple insurers.
Digital liability – Social media activity, cyberbullying, online defamation, and other digital exposures are creating new liability considerations, while coverage treatment varies by policy.
Liability awareness – Greater awareness of high-profile liability cases is prompting more households to reevaluate excess liability protection.
Liability losses and coverage trends
Sources: Chubb,26 PACT,27 Insurance Information Institute28
Key watchpoints
A broader liability footprint
Workers’ compensation conditions are diverging at the state level, with California emerging as the clearest stress signal. Rising medical costs, cumulative trauma claims, expanding compensability standards, and reserve pressure are contributing to a more challenging underwriting environment, while other states continue to benefit from strong profitability. Early signs of deterioration are also emerging in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois, reinforcing the importance of monitoring jurisdiction-specific loss trends, regulatory developments, and pricing conditions rather than relying on national averages.
Pet-related liability gains attention
Dog-related injury claims increased during 2025, driving higher loss costs through rising claim frequency, medical expenses, and litigation activity. While homeowners policies may provide underlying liability protection, serious incidents can quickly exhaust those limits, making umbrella coverage an important consideration for pet-owning households.
Pet ownership remains one of the most common personal liability exposures. As claim costs rise and insurer scrutiny increases, households with dogs, particularly larger breeds, or animals with prior incident history, should regularly evaluate liability protection alongside prevention, training, and responsible ownership practices.
Top Liability Concerns
Source: Chubb29
Liability and cyber take center stage
Successful individuals and families are increasingly prioritizing liability and cyber protection alongside traditional property coverage. Growing awareness of cyber risk, financial fraud, and large liability claims is prompting more households to view umbrella and cyber coverage as foundational components of broader asset-protection strategies. This reflects a greater shift away from siloed coverage decisions toward coordinated protection planning.
Looking ahead
Liability severity is expected to remain elevated as social inflation, litigation funding, nuclear verdicts, and evolving liability exposures continue influencing claim outcomes and demand for higher liability limits. Digital liability, cyber-related exposures, and reputational risks will attract greater attention as online activity and public visibility create new sources of potential liability. Higher-limit placements will remain selective, and complex risks may continue requiring layered structures and more extensive underwriting review. Legislative efforts targeting legal system abuse may provide longer-term relief.
Recommendations
Strong workers’ compensation outcomes depend on proactive safety, claims management, and compliance. The Baldwin Group helps organizations strengthen performance through data-driven insight and insurer-ready program design:
Explore our insights in “The Importance of Excess Liability & Umbrella Insurance” for practical guidance about strengthening your liability protection and building a coverage strategy that preserves long-term financial security.
Excess & surplus (E&S) market
E&S as a permanent feature of private risk program architecture
| The Baldwin Group client rate trend | Capacity and outlook |
|---|---|
| Moderating increases | Expanding with sustained demand |
Overview
The excess and surplus market remains an essential source of capacity for catastrophe-exposed, high-value, and otherwise difficult-to-place risks. While growth has moderated and competition has improved in select segments, E&S continues to play a critical role as admitted insurers maintain disciplined underwriting in many regions and risk categories.
E&S markets have evolved from a solution for isolated placement challenges into a standard component of many private risk programs. For successful individuals and families, E&S markets continue to provide flexibility, tailored coverage solutions, and access to capacity that may not be available through traditional channels.
Market dynamics
Underwriting scrutiny – Property-level underwriting, catastrophe modeling, aerial imagery, and predictive analytics are increasing risk differentiation and placing greater value on documented mitigation efforts.
Capacity stabilization – Competition has improved for well-protected risks, but underwriting discipline remains in place, particularly for catastrophe-exposed and high-value properties.
Appetite shifts – Underwriting strategies continue evolving rapidly, requiring proactive renewal planning as insurer participation, pricing, and capacity shift quickly by geography and risk profile.
Higher-limit solutions – E&S is playing a growing role in umbrella and excess liability placements as admitted market appetite for higher-limit deployments remains selective.
Catastrophe exposure – Wildfire, flood, severe convective storms (SCS), and coastal risks continue driving E&S demand as admitted insurers maintain disciplined underwriting and selective appetite in catastrophe-prone regions.
Specialty capacity – Managing general agents (MGAs), specialty insurers, and alternative capacity providers continue expanding, improving flexibility and competition in select segments.
E&S market momentum
Source: Risk and Insurance30
Key watchpoints
California as a market indicator
California’s E&S market has undergone a structural transformation. Growth is no longer concentrated in wildfire-exposed or rural areas, as an increasing share of suburban and urban properties enter the non-admitted market while admitted capacity remains limited. These trends offer an early indication of how climate risk, regulatory frameworks, and insurance availability may reshape markets across the country.
Recent regulatory reforms have encouraged cautious insurer re-entry and expanded tools available to admitted insurers. Even so, E&S continues to play a critical role, offering a glimpse into how catastrophe-prone states may balance availability, affordability, and risk in the years ahead.
The rise of hybrid programs
Successful households are increasingly combining admitted and E&S solutions to secure sufficient capacity across complex property and liability portfolios, with programs drawing on admitted, E&S, private flood, FAIR Plan, and specialty markets to achieve coverage breadth, limit adequacy, and placement stability. Hybrid program structures provide greater flexibility around coverage design, capacity, and risk characteristics that may challenge traditional markets and are expected to remain a defining feature of complex private risk programs.
E&S as a core strategy
E&S is now a long-term component of private risk insurance rather than a temporary solution for difficult-to-place risks. Loss volatility, underwriting specialization, and admitted market limitations continue reinforcing its role across many private risk programs. For successful households, the distinction between admitted and non-admitted markets is becoming less important than securing the right combination of coverage, capacity, and long-term stability.
Looking ahead
E&S utilization is expected to remain elevated as admitted market recovery continues unevenly across regions and risk categories. Hybrid program structures will likely become more common as households seek flexibility, coverage breadth, and long-term stability. Although growth is moderating, E&S is expected to remain a core component of private risk insurance, supported by catastrophe exposure, underwriting specialization, and evolving capacity needs.
Recommendations
Navigating today’s insurance market often requires more than a single placement solution. The Baldwin Group helps individuals and families evaluate options, coordinate admitted and specialty market strategies, and build programs designed for long-term resilience:
2026 Mid-year state of the market update
The private risk landscape continues to evolve as climate volatility, technology, litigation trends, and changing lifestyle patterns become increasingly interconnected, influencing everything from insurance availability and pricing to liability exposure and protection strategies. Individuals and families who take a proactive approach to risk management by investing in preparedness, resilience, and informed decision-making are better positioned to adapt to changing conditions and protect what matters most.
Navigating today’s market requires more than securing insurance at renewal. It begins with understanding how evolving risks intersect with your properties, assets, lifestyle, and future goals. Households that prioritize prevention, maintain accurate valuations, and regularly evaluate emerging exposures are often best equipped to preserve insurability, achieve favorable underwriting outcomes, and safeguard their financial future.
The Baldwin Group partners with successful individuals and families to navigate complexity with clarity, precision, and confidence. Through coordinated risk strategies, specialized expertise, and strong insurer relationships, we help you make informed decisions, strengthen resilience, and build protection that evolves alongside your life, assets, and legacy.
This document is intended for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice or opinions on any specific facts or circumstances. The content of this document is made available on an “as is” basis, without warranty of any kind. The Baldwin Insurance Group Holdings, LLC (“The Baldwin Group”), its affiliates, and subsidiaries do not guarantee that this information is, or can be relied on for, compliance with any law or regulation, assurance against preventable losses, or freedom from legal liability. This publication is not intended to be legal, underwriting, or any other type of professional advice. The Baldwin Group does not guarantee any particular outcome and makes no commitment to update any information herein or remove any items that are no longer accurate or complete. Furthermore, The Baldwin Group does not assume any liability to any person or organization for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any reliance placed on that content. Persons requiring advice should always consult an independent adviser.
- Verisk, “2026 Executive Insights: Homeowners,” May 26, 2026 ↩︎
- Insurance Information Institute, “U.S. P/C Market Records Hard-Earned Decade-Low Combined Ratio,” Lewis Nibbelin, May 14, 2026; Insurance Information Institute, “Triple-I: Homeowners Insurance Market Shows Early Signs of Stabilization as Post-COVID Inflation Pressures Level-Set Into ‘New Normal’ For Risk Pricing,” December 16, 2025; Insurance Information Institute, “Triple-I and NICB Warn Homeowners to Watch for Contractor Fraud Following Disasters,” May 18, 2026 ↩︎
- Associated Builders and Contractors, “ABC: Construction Industry Must Attract 349,000 Workers in 2026 Despite Macroeconomic Headwinds,” January 15, 2026 ↩︎
- Insurance Business, “Academics propose a Federal backstop for the homeowners’ insurance crisis,” Matthew Sellers, March 19, 2026 ↩︎
- Property Casualty 360, “Colorado insurance reform efforts could help other states,” Corey Dahl, May 12, 2026 ↩︎
- Chubb, “Underwater: When Flood Risk Isn’t What It Seems,” February 2026 ↩︎
- The Wall Street Journal, “It’s Getting Harder to Figure Out Whether You Live in a Flood Zone or Not,” Heather Gillers, November 9, 2025 ↩︎
- Chubb, “The 2025 Wealth Report,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Nationwide, “Homeowners Survey 2025 Insights Report,” October 2025 ↩︎
- Insurance Information Institute, “Mississippi Set to Launch Roof Grant Program,” Lewis Nibbelin, April 27, 2026 ↩︎
- HousingWire, “IBHS expands wildfire resilience program as fire risk grows,” Richard Lawson, April 21, 2026 ↩︎
- Verisk, “2026 Executive Insights: Personal Auto,” March 2, 2026 ↩︎
- Insurance Information Institute, “U.S. P/C Market Records Hard-Earned Decade-Low Combined Ratio,” Lewis Nibbelin, May 14, 2026 ↩︎
- Insurance Business, “US auto insurance shopping cools from ‘hot’ to ‘warm’ in Q1 2026: report,” Josh Recamara, May 12, 2026 ↩︎
- Verisk, “ClaimSearch Trends Report 2025 Year-end Analysis,” April 20, 2026; Verisk, “360Value Quarterly Reconstruction Cost Analysis Q2 2026: United States,” May 27, 2026 ↩︎
- Property Casualty 360, “What’s really driving the rise in bodily injury claim frequency?,” Erik Bahnsen, December 16, 2025 ↩︎
- Intelligent Insurer, “Alien nation: how social inflation is distorting US insurance market,” Tim Adler, November 26, 2025 ↩︎
- Nationwide, “Nationwide Agency Forward Driving Behaviors 2026 Survey Findings,” February 2026 ↩︎
- AAA, “Drivers Support Promising Solutions to Curb Impaired Driving, New AAA Survey Shows,” Kellan Howell, December 15, 2026 ↩︎
- Source: CLM87 ↩︎
- GASA, “State of Scams in the United States of America 2025 Report,” Accessed June 2026 ↩︎
- Insurance Business, “Surge in scams and cyber exposure reshapes consumer risk landscape – survey,” Rod Bolivar, April 10, 2026 ↩︎
- FBI, “Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions,” April 6, 2026 ↩︎
- Chubb, “The 2025 Wealth Report,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Chubb, “The 2025 Wealth Report,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Chubb, “The 2025 Wealth Report,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Protecting American Consumers Together, “Car Crash Victims & Personal Injury Attorneys: A National Survey of Experiences, Pressures, and Outcomes,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Insurance Information Institute, “Triple-I Highlights Growing Insurance Needs for Pet Owners and Pet Care Businesses,” May 13, 2026 ↩︎
- Chubb, “The 2025 Wealth Report,” December 2025 ↩︎
- Risk and Insurance, “US Excess and Surplus Market Growth Slows to Single Digits as Commercial Property Premiums Decline, April 6, 2026 ↩︎
