Global property insurance rates fall 10% in Q3’26 as terms improve for buyers: Marsh Risk

Broker Marsh Risk has reported that property rates declined 10% on a global basis in the third quarter of 2026, compared with a 12% decrease in the second quarter, led by double-digit decreases seen in India, Middle East and Asia (IMEA), Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), the UK and the United States.

In its latest report on global commercial insurance rates, Marsh Risk observed that ample capacity and lower reinsurance costs affected both pricing and terms in the commercial property market, including catastrophe deductible caps, higher sub-limits, and the availability of long-term agreements.

The broker also highlighted how reinsurance conditions improved further during the third-quarter of 2026, with strong insurer results and more favourable reinsurance terms supporting active market participation and adding to the availability of capacity across many lines.

This softening in property lines is particularly significant, as terms tend to relax first in primary and commercial markets, which can then sometimes cascade through to reinsurance as well.

Moreover, Q3 2026 also marked the ninth consecutive quarter for property rate decreases, which according to Marsh Risk continues to be fueled by ample capacity and sustained insurer competition across all major product lines.

John Donnelly, President, Global Placement, Marsh Risk, commented: “Geopolitical uncertainty and broader economic concerns remain part of the operating environment, and many insurance buyers were more inclined to retain premium savings rather than reinvesting them in additional coverage. The current environment continues to present opportunities for insureds to enhance their program structures and examine alternative strategies to manage risk.”

Donnelly added: “Market conditions remained broadly unchanged, with low loss levels from the US hurricane season contributing to favorable underwriting results for insurers. Strong capacity and competition across much of the market, when combined with favorable reinsurance conditions, continue to provide clients with opportunities.”

As mentioned, property rates declined by 10% in Q3 2026 on a global basis, following a 12% decrease in Q2 2026 and 9% decreases in both Q1 2026 and Q4 2025.

“Global property rates, which saw the largest decline across major lines of coverage, were influenced by the timing of catastrophe-exposed renewals; limited renewal activity among major wind-exposed accounts tempered the pace of property rate reductions,” Marsh Risk said.

Rates fell fastest in the IMEA region, which recorded a 15% decline in the quarter, compared to a 19% decline in the previous quarter. Marsh Risk observed that property rates continued to vary significantly by market, with the steepest reductions recorded in India and South Africa, and more moderate, although still double-digit, decreases seen in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

In the Pacific market, property insurance rates declined 14% in the quarter, compared to a 15% decline in Q2’26. Marsh Risk noted that market conditions remained favourable for clients across the region, with most placements oversubscribed with insurers continuing to expand capacity on both new and incumbent business.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), property insurance rates declined by 13%, with Brazil and Chile registering the steepest declines, while more moderate reductions were also recorded across several other markets.

The broker observed that local and facultative capacity expanded materially across the LAC region, which was heavily supported by favourable treaty renewals. While a combination of solid insurer results and lower reinsurance costs continued to drive rate reductions and flexibility in terms and conditions.

Moving on to the UK, Marsh revealed that property insurance rates declined by 11% in Q3 2026, unchanged from the prior quarter. The broker noted that the combination of a quiet natural catastrophe season and the absence of major losses continued to support favourable market conditions during the quarter,

In the United States, property insurance rates declined by 10% in the third quarter, following a 13% decline in the prior quarter.

Marsh Risk observed that catastrophe-driven programs, typically those with more than US$1 million in premium, saw average year-over-year rate declines of 13% in the period, while non-cat programs, typically those below US$1 million in premium, declined 9%.

The broker also said that capacity across the US property insurance market expanded with strong insurer results, favourable reinsurance terms, and capital inflows, while also noting that there were high levels of competition across various sectors and regions.

Meanwhile, in Canada, property insurance rates declined 8% in the quarter with decreases seen across all segments, industries, and customer risk profiles.

While in Asia, property rates declined 7%, following 5% declines in the prior five quarters. Marsh also observed that Asia’s property market showed ample capacity for well-managed, loss-free, and data-rich risks during the quarter, fueled by capacity from new Lloyd’s syndicates, new managing general agents (MGA), and international markets.

Lastly, in Europe property insurance rates declined 9%, which Marsh Risk stated was helped by improved reinsurance costs feeding through to primary pricing.