What carriers should know about the changing P&C market

After several years in which much of P&C was focused on restoring rate adequacy and profitability, the market is finally changing. Growth is once again a real priority for many carriers, but calling this current environment a soft market would be an oversimplification. In reality, conditions are moving at different speeds across lines of business, geographies, and risk segments. A carrier looking at personal auto may see a very different competitive environment than one evaluating commercial property or excess liability. Even within the same line, opportunities at the state-level can vary significantly.

That unevenness was at the center of a recent on-demand expert session led by Christian Egoavil, Carrier Data and Connectivity Sales Director, and Drew Hill, Vice President of Carrier Data Solutions and Connectivity. Drawing on Vertafore market data and Hill’s experience working with carriers on product, pricing, and analytics strategy, the conversation explored what current P&C market signals can tell carriers and why understanding the context behind those signals matters as much as the data itself.

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One market, several different trajectories

Personal auto provides one of the clearest illustrations of how quickly conditions have changed. Vertafore data tracks accepted renewal premium changes from 2020 through the second quarter of 2026. After approaching roughly 10% at the median during the height of the hard market in 2023, personal auto renewal changes have steadily declined toward approximately flat levels. That represents a significant change in competitive conditions, but it is not necessarily true for the rest of P&C.

Commercial property has experienced an even sharper shift. Median renewal change moved from roughly 12% at its peak to less than 1% by the second quarter of 2026. In Florida, the median renewal change was approximately negative 10%.

Within liability, personal umbrella pricing peaked later and has remained comparatively elevated. Similarly, commercial umbrella and excess pricing continues to show persistent increases, as concerns around claim severity, litigation, and social inflation remain important considerations.

Overall, the data suggests that broad market labels are likely to conceal meaningful differences underneath them. The more important question for individual carriers is not simply whether the P&C market is getting softer, but where conditions are changing within the markets that matter most to their own portfolios and strategies.

From rate adequacy back to growth

Hill describes the hard market as a period in which carriers were forced to determine whether they had adequately responded to changing loss costs. Some moved sooner than others by adjusting their rates, underwriting approaches, terms and conditions, or other profitability levers. Those choices might be about to pay off, and carriers that reached a comfortable level of rate adequacy earlier may be able to pivot toward growth sooner.

However, renewed growth appetite introduces a new question. When competitors begin changing price, expanding appetite, or pursuing particular markets, how should a carrier determine whether it should follow? That requires context beyond their own book of business.

Regulatory filings can reveal changes in pricing and product strategy. Quote, submission, and shopping activity can provide another view of competitiveness. Policy and renewal data can show what is actually reaching and being accepted by the customer. Agency and distribution feedback can offer yet another signal. The takeaway? No single source tells the whole story.

Instead, the opportunity comes from bringing those signals together well enough to understand whether a change represents a broader market movement, a local competitive shift, or something particular to the carrier's own portfolio.

Growth is not only a pricing decision

As noted in the expert session, carriers have more competitive levers available than price. When markets become more competitive, the experience a carrier provides to its distribution partners can become part of its growth strategy. How quickly can an agent or broker determine whether a carrier wants a risk? How rapidly can underwriting respond? How clearly is appetite communicated? How much friction exists between submission and decision? When competitive carriers focus on delivering an excellent agent experience, being the fastest and most responsive can sometimes be as powerful as being the cheapest.

That changes the role technology and data play in competitive strategy. Better connectivity shortens response times. Better appetite information can help business reach the appropriate markets earlier. Better data can help carriers understand which relationships, segments, and geographies are producing the outcomes they want.

Competitiveness is more than just what a carrier charges. When it comes to winning new business, it matters immensely how effectively a carrier can deploy their strategy into the marketplace.

AI can shorten the distance from signal to decision

That principle helps illustrate the opportunity around AI. Predictive modeling is not new to insurance. What is changing is the industry's ability to work with vast troves of information that has historically been difficult to organize or use: documents, unstructured information, disconnected operational records, market intelligence, and other resources spread across incompatible systems. 

More data is not necessarily an advantage if organizations struggle to determine which signals matter or act on them quickly. Vertafore’s purpose-built AI solutions are ideally positioned to help carriers resolve this challenge.

Read the market before deciding how to move

For carrier leaders, greater market visibility means greater strategic viability. The organizations best positioned to capitalize on changes within the P&C market will be able to compare what is happening inside their own books with what is happening around them, where pricing is changing, where competitive pressure is building, where distribution behavior is shifting, and where profitable growth may be opening up. Watch the recording below for more insights.