As we move into 2026, policyholders continue to benefit from favourable conditions across most sectors, offering policyholders greater control over pricing, terms, and structure. We observe strong appetite from both local and international insurers, with capacity and competition at their highest levels since 2016.
Insurers are intent to grow their portfolios translating to rate reductions. Attractive risk profiles with the benefit of well managed or nugatory claims histories, will receive reductions of 5 to 10 per cent.
The local market remains extremely competitive often out-pricing Lloyd’s and other markets. From a placement strategy standpoint, insurers want new business and are often willing to offer long-term agreements and broader coverage conditions.
Developing liability trends
While pricing is attractive, the following liability exposures are evolving:
- Worker-to-worker claims continue to climb, particularly in construction, logistics and maintenance-heavy industries. Insurers are becoming more forensic in their analysis of contractor controls, labour hire agreements and injury prevention programs.
- Abuse and molestation exclusions remain standard, and this is one of the few areas where we’ve seen no softening. Most carriers won’t contemplate any cover unless robust vetting, governance and incident management protocols are in place.
- PFAS, is also drawing increased underwriting scrutiny. Businesses with PFAS exposures or those involved in manufacturing, chemical handling or contaminated site management should continue to expect detailed questioning around their risk management and incident prevention processes.
- We are also seeing the downstream effects of regulatory reform. Litigation funding and contingency-fee arrangements are driving more class actions and higher settlement values. Insurers are monitoring legal costs as this trend grows, particularly with new privacy and ESG-related claims gaining traction.
Rewarding pro-active risk mitigation
The level of underwriting engagement is high and pleasingly practical. Insurers are open to negotiation, and we observe greater engagement with underwriters on proponents that have strong risk identification, safety investment, and contractual risk allocation ethos.
Importantly, underwriters are starting to reward businesses that invest in their own risk mitigation. Policyholders that caan provide evidence of proactive approaches to risk management, active / current risk registers and real time incident reporting data, are prioritised.
Given market conditions it is timely to revisit programme design, coverage enhancements and long term agreements. With insurer appetite strong, businesses should consider increasing limits, reviewing legacy exclusions, and negotiating industry specific endorsements.
Bellrock continues to guide policyholders through these discussions. We understand the market and engage daily with insurers who are actively seeking to grow their portfolio. Get in touch with a Bellrock Advisor.
Continue reading our full range of market updates:
- Insurance Market Overview: January 2026
- Claims
- Workers Compensation
- Corporate and Multinational Risk
- Construction, Property and Development
- Financial Lines
