The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry posted an estimated net underwriting gain of $15.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a sharp turnaround from an $864 million loss a year earlier, according to Verisk and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. The combined ratio improved to 92.4 percent from 99.2 percent, driven by continued momentum in personal auto underwriting and a more stable catastrophe experience. Net written premium growth slowed to 2.9 percent from 6.8 percent, and carriers returned $6.2 billion to policyholders through dividends, effectively reducing written premiums when factoring in inflation. Net income after taxes rose to $40.9 billion from $19.4 billion, while policyholders' surplus increased to $1.24 trillion. However, casualty lines remained under pressure and legal system abuse continued to pose headwinds, even as reforms in states like Florida began to show progress.
Verisk Analytics IncVerisk provides data and analytics to the P&C insurance industry; the strong underwriting results and improved combined ratio indicate healthy demand for its services.