The market has moved deeper into the soft phase flagged in Bellrock’s January overview. Conditions remain characterised by abundant insurer capital. Underlying claims exposures have not materially reduced, and there is no evidence of a structural shift in loss trends.
As a result, pricing remains below technical levels in several segments, with competitive dynamics as opposed to risk fundamentals, setting the tone. We observe continued growth‑driven competition, and expanding delegated authority appetite, all of which are sustaining downward pressure on rates. Importantly, this softness reflects market behaviour rather than improved risk for the remainder of 2026 renewal outcomes.
What we have seen in June renewals
June renewals showed strong competition for well-presented risks, particularly where Bellrock can demonstrate clean claims, clear risk controls and credible management. The important difference from January is that the soft market is now sitting alongside greater economic and legal stress: budget tax reform, construction feasibility pressure, private credit scrutiny, geopolitical disruption and more active courts.
Premium pricing trends
The composite market remains soft. Attractive risks will still achieve reductions, broader terms or improved retentions; challenged risks are more likely to see flat outcomes or targeted increases. The expected composite range remains approximately -5% to -12% for quality risks, with materially worse results where claims, liquidity or catastrophe exposure are adverse.
Insurer behaviour
Insurers are still chasing premium and portfolio growth. This results in pricing across some classes appearing disconnected from the claims and economic environment. Astute insurers are segmenting; the more aggressive insurers are buying market share.
Claims trends
The major claims themes remain catastrophe volatility, long-tail liability severity, cyber events, psychological injury, motor repair inflation, cladding/building defects, insolvency-related disputes and professional services claims arising from failed projects or reliance on assumptions.
Legal and regulatory developments
Brambles, Nuix, Halifax Vogel / Alucobond, Shangri-La and Aquamore are now central to the legal landscape. ASIC’s focus on claims handling, private credit and financial reporting reinforces the point that regulatory conditions are not soft even if the insurance market is.
AI and technology impact
AI is reshaping both underwriting practices and the loss environment. Underwriters are increasingly using data‑driven tools to triage and prioritise submissions, while policyholders are confronting a new suite of exposures arising from AI‑enabled cyber‑attacks, automated decision‑making, privacy vulnerabilities, and growing dependence on technology platforms.
What policyholders should do now
Use the current market to improve programme architecture, not merely to harvest savings. Secure insurer quality, claims performance, limit adequacy, wording breadth and multi-year certainty where available. The current market is an opportunity window, not a reason to be complacent and simply accept a discount.
Summaries subject to industry, risk exposure and policy class are included below:
Property Insurance
The commercial property insurance market across Australia and Asia-Pacific has stabilised into a competitive phase, with well-performing assets benefiting from improved pricing, greater flexibility and higher policy limits. Natural catastrophe-exposed properties continue to face tighter conditions, though substantial capacity remains available. Despite the improved conditions, underwriting discipline remains strong. Insurers are placing heightened focus on asset quality, construction type, and climate‑related exposure when differentiating risks. At the same time, claims inflation and escalating reinstatement costs are driving higher settlement values, and underinsurance continues to surface at claim time for property owners whose valuations have not kept pace with current cost pressures. Read the full update on Property Insurance.
Commercial General Liability
The Commercial General Liability market remains competitive for most Australian businesses, with strong insurer appetite, available capacity and competitive local pricing. However, insurers are becoming more selective, with greater focus on risk complexity rather than pricing alone. Increased scrutiny is being applied to worker-to-worker injury exposures, imported product exposures, US exposure, PFAS, silica and broad contractual liabilities. While preferred risks will continue to achieve favourable pricing and coverage outcomes, insurers remain mindful of claims inflation, rising legal costs, psychological injury claims and other long-tail exposures that may influence profitability over time. Read the full update on Commercial General Liability.
Childcare & Safeguarding Liability
Early 2026 brings the most significant regulatory reform to the childcare and early learning sector in over a decade, introducing new obligations for approved providers and critically creating uninsurable exposures for entities and their office holders. The liability market has stabilised with coverage available from both domestic and London market insurers. It does, however, remain selective with insurers scrutinising safeguarding practices more closely than ever. Pricing is soft for both property and business interruption, while liability and abuse cover remains flat for well-performing operators, with increases of 10 to 20% where governance or claims history falls short. Operators who can demonstrate rigorous screening, documented training and a robust incident reporting framework will be best placed as the gap between well-prepared and underprepared operators continues to widen. Read the full update on Childcare & Safeguarding Liability.
Accident & Health
The Accident & Health market is experiencing upward pressure on premiums, driven by geo-political uncertainty and sustained medical cost inflation. Despite this pressure, domestic travel policies and large corporate accounts continue to benefit from soft market conditions. Recent geo-political events have prompted insurers to implement a 1 March cutoff date for bookings related to the Iran, Israel and US military conflict, with claims frequency expected to rise as international travel picks up in the second half of the year.
Demand for Group Personal Accident cover is growing as employers reinstate in-office requirements and anchor days, bringing more employees back into regular commutes. This is driving a noticeable increase in journey-related claims. At the same time, medical expense inflation is pushing pricing upward, with weekly benefit caps under review across the market. Cross-border employment continues to grow, sustaining demand for Inpat and Expat group arrangements, with premiums remaining stable and insurer appetite firmly favouring group over individual policies. Read the full update on Accident & Health.
Motor
June motor renewals show a clearly segmented market, with pricing and terms largely dictated by claims performance. Well‑managed fleets with low frequency and severity are securing flat to –5% outcomes, supported by strong insurer appetite for scale and disciplined risks. Poor‑performing fleets, heavy vehicles and EV‑exposed portfolios are seeing +5% to +15% increases as insurers respond to sustained pressure from repair cost inflation, parts delays, ADAS recalibration, and high‑frequency loss patterns.
Underwriting discipline has tightened, with greater scrutiny on driver behaviour, risk controls, and claims history. Even traditionally low‑severity claims—windscreens, low‑speed impacts—are generating materially higher costs due to the complexity of modern vehicle technology.
The broader market remains competitive, and policyholders can still leverage conditions by strengthening fleet governance, aligning excess structures with claims experience, and partnering with financially secure insurers. Opportunities also exist for coverage enhancements and value‑added services where fleets can demonstrate robust loss‑mitigation practices. Read the full update on Motor insurance and for Motor Dealers.
Contractors Plant & Equipment
The Australian Contractors Plant and Equipment market remains highly competitive, with well-performing fleets securing rate reductions of 10% or more in the first half of 2026 and this trend expected to continue. While lower-risk accounts are benefiting from favourable conditions, insurers are applying greater scrutiny to higher-risk activities, and battery-powered equipment is attracting increasing underwriting attention due to elevated fire risk at hire and rental depots. A significant regulatory change in Western Australia now requires operators using earthmoving machinery for lifting operations exceeding 3 tonnes to hold an appropriate High Risk Work Licence. Policyholders who invest in strong risk management, maintain well-structured hire agreements and engage early with their advisors will be best positioned to capitalise on current market conditions. Read the full update on Contractors Plant & Equipment.
Construction Material Damage
The construction material damage insurance market remains competitive, with increased insurer capacity benefiting quality risks across commercial, industrial, infrastructure and civil construction with flat to modest rate reductions of up to 10%. Residential and speculative developments continue to attract greater underwriting scrutiny, and proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions could shift investor demand away from residential housing toward commercial assets. Works exposed to Northern Australia’s cyclone and natural catastrophe regions remain under heightened attention from underwriters, with water damage, theft and malicious damage continuing to drive loss frequency.
The rapid growth of data centre construction, fuelled by artificial intelligence and global digital infrastructure demand, is stretching traditional insurance capacity and could place upward pressure on what is currently a soft market for this sector. Growing interest in modular construction is being met with cautious insurer support, with underwriting focus on manufacturing quality and transit risk. We have observed notable inconsistency in claims performance across the market, and policyholders should weigh this carefully when selecting their insurer. Ensuring your claim is resolved quickly and efficiently will almost always deliver greater value than a marginal premium saving at renewal. Read the full update on Construction Material Damage.
Construction Liability
The Australian construction liability market continues to soften through the first half of 2026, with strong competition and increased capacity delivering improved pricing and broader coverage for well-performing accounts. Complex exposures including tunnelling, underground works and residential high-rise builders continue to attract greater underwriting scrutiny. The ongoing rise in psychological injury claims, however, remains the most significant challenge facing the market overall. Inflationary pressures, PFAS exclusions and deemed manufacturer liability for imported materials are further shaping underwriting conditions.
Claims performance has been inconsistent across the market and policyholders should consider their insurer selection carefully. Firms that invest in risk management, exercise contractual discipline and engage early with insurers will be best placed to sustain favourable outcomes heading into the second half of the year. Read the full update on Construction Liability.
Cyber Liability
The cyber risk environment is entering a new phase, driven by AI-accelerated threats, rising geopolitical tensions and an increasingly demanding regulatory landscape. Anthropic’s Mythos model has attracted significant industry attention and may represent a genuine shift in what offensive AI is truly capable of.
Traditional attack vectors including ransomware, business email compromise and supply chain breaches remain the dominant causes of incidents, though AI is making them faster, more scalable and harder to defend against. Regulators are moving quickly, and boards are now expected to demonstrate cyber resilience in practice rather than on paper. In terms of insurance, premiums are stabilising after a prolonged period of hardening, though underwriting remains disciplined and insurers are asking more exacting questions than ever. Read the full update on Cyber Liability.
Management Liability
The management liability market remains stable and continues to ease through 2026, with rate reductions of 5 to 10% common and insurers offering broader coverage, reduced retentions and more flexible structures for well-managed risks. Claims are rising across multiple sectors, driven by increased Work Health & Safety (WHS) investigations, insolvent trading allegations, employment practices liability claims and privacy-related exposures, with defence costs remaining significant even where allegations are ultimately groundless. The recent tightening of privacy laws has materially increased regulatory investigations and management failure allegations, heightening exposure for both businesses and their directors.
Governance expectations for SMEs are rising quickly and show no sign of slowing. The expansion of AML and CTF obligations to lawyers, accountants, real estate agents as well as trust and company service providers from July 2026 introduces a significant new compliance burden, alongside climate-related disclosure obligations that continue to raise the bar for boards. Employment practices liability remains one of the most frequent triggers for ML notifications, with wrongful termination, discrimination and whistleblower actions all featuring regularly. Despite the soft conditions, insurers are maintaining underwriting discipline whilst geopolitical tensions, inflation and cyber risk remain key points to watch as they could shift insurer appetite if conditions intensify. Read the full update on Management Liability.
Directors’ & Officers’ Liability
The D&O insurance market had a positive start to 2026, with sustained insurer appetite keeping conditions buyer-friendly, though premium reductions are slowing. Businesses in construction, healthcare and technology are already experiencing rate increases. The resurgence in Securities Class Actions, exemplified by the Brambles decision, has prompted a reassessment of whether or not existing limits are adequate for ASX-listed companies, while Director Penalty Notices are being deployed by the ATO at scale, creating very real personal liability for directors of businesses under financial pressure.
The broader liability environment appears to be shifting rapidly. Mandatory climate reporting has moved ESG from being purely a reputational concern to one which represents a genuine financial and legal exposure. AI is creating governance obligations that boards are only just beginning to understand, whilst cyber risk continues to elevate personal director liability across multiple sectors. Taken together, these pressures suggest the current window of buyer-friendly conditions is unlikely to last. Boards which invest in strong governance and adequate coverage now will be considerably better positioned when the market turns. Read the full update on D&O Liability.
Professional Indemnity
The Australian PI market remains favourable heading into the second half of 2026, with rate reductions of 5–10% still available, though these have moderated since the January update. Insurers are increasingly focused on coverage and deductible structures over price, rewarding businesses with strong governance and risk management practices. Read the full update on PI.
Financial Services Licensees
Rates are beginning to stabilise, though reductions remain available for well-governed firms. Wholesale fund managers with exposure to commercial property and equities remain the most attractive proposition for insurers, while private credit, mortgage and property development funds continue to attract more selective underwriting. As pricing stabilises, policyholders should use the current market conditions to focus on strengthening coverage and the quality of their insurer relationships, rather than simply pursuing further rate reductions. Read the full update for AFSLs.
Real Estate and Property Professionals
Appetite across the sector is broad, with proactive property managers being rewarded with highly favourable rates. Contingent bodily injury and property damage cover is available under PI policies, which complements general liability cover and reduces the risk of demarcation disputes at claim time. Appetite remains more cautious, however for strata managers and residential property managers with significant off-the-plan exposure. Read the full update for Real Estate & Property Professionals.
Accountants and Auditors
Following intensive regulatory scrutiny over the past 12 months, we are cautious about whether further rate reductions will materialise in the second half of the year. Underwriters continue to scrutinise retainer agreements, and favourable contracting provisions remain critical to both risk management and premium outcomes. Read the full update for Accountants & Auditors.
IT and SaaS Providers
The market continues to soften, supported by strong combined loss ratios in the cyber liability space. Coverage must be carefully reviewed however, as a single event can trigger claims across multiple insuring clauses. This is a risk that has come into sharper focus following ASIC v FIIG Securities. The Digital Assets Framework is expected to open local market appetite for crypto and digital asset platform providers from April 2027. Read the full update for IT and SaaS Providers.
Solicitors
Primary layer premiums have remained largely stable, while competition in the excess market has enabled firms to secure higher limits at lower rates, with reductions of up to 10% achievable and more significant reductions available on layers attaching above $100M. Competition in the excess market is expected to persist through the remainder of 2026, and firms should look to take advantage while conditions allow. Read the full update for Solicitors.
Construction Professionals
The professional indemnity market for construction professionals remains soft, with strong appetite and ample capacity, particularly for SMEs where rates have dropped though are now plateauing. That said, long-tail claims are beginning to emerge, with some newer market entrants already experiencing full limit losses. A return to hard market conditions is expected within the next two to three years. Certain disciplines including high-rise residential, façade design, Design and Construct and certification continue to attract reduced capacity, and the Brisbane Olympics is placing significant aggregation pressure on the Project PI market, with lead consultants increasingly being asked to carry higher and more costly standalone limits.
Against this backdrop, the regulatory and commercial environment for construction professionals is shifting on multiple fronts simultaneously. NSW and Victoria are both mid-way through significant building reform programmes, and Victorian architects face material new obligations under the Architects Regulations 2026. Three recent cladding decisions are reshaping how liability and coverage interact in practice, while Federal Budget uncertainty is weighing on pipeline confidence, particularly in the mid-market apartment sector. Through all of this, insolvencies remain a persistent concern and the fundamentals have not changed in that client selection and the willingness to say no are as important as ever. Read the full update for Construction Professionals.
Valuers
The valuer PI market is softening, with insurers showing greater appetite and assessing risks individually based on risk management maturity rather than claims history alone. Concerns persist however around consequential loss exclusions, placements with Unauthorised Foreign Insurers and cautious underwriting for Non-Bank Lender and development property valuations. Read the full update for Valuers.
Transaction & Contingent Risk
M&A activity is expected to lift in the second half of 2026 as confidence returns, PE firms push for exits, and corporates pursue inorganic growth. Mid‑market deals remain strong, especially in tech, industrials, energy and mining. Despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty, insurers continue to offer competitive W&I terms, low premiums, and broad coverage. However, claims activity is rising and may firm rates later.
Regulatory changes (ACCC merger rules, FIRB, ASIC scrutiny, and upcoming CGT reforms) will influence deal timing and structures. AI‑driven digital transformation is a major focus in diligence and valuation. PE sellers and mid‑market corporates increasingly rely on W&I insurance for clean exits, faster execution, and risk transfer. Selective dealmaking continues, but Australia remains a stable and attractive environment for foreign investment. Read the full update on Transaction Risk, M&A and Warranty & Indemnity Insurance.
Trade Credit
The Australian trade credit market remains challenging, with pressure centred on liquidity, working capital strain, payment defaults and counterparty risk. Insurer capacity remains available, but underwriting is disciplined. Strong cash flow management, debtor control and credit processes continue to secure better terms and higher limits. Businesses face ongoing pressure from higher interest rates, inflation, energy costs and weaker demand. Insolvencies and restructuring activity remain elevated. Performance varies sharply across industries, making buyer-specific risk assessment increasingly important. Pressures are expected to continue through 2026 and into 2027. Read the full update on Trade Credit.
Strata
The strata insurance market is gradually softening, with modest rate reductions available to well-managed schemes, though rising building values are largely offsetting premium savings. Insurers are deploying greater capacity to support single-underwriter placements, though mixed-use buildings are facing heightened scrutiny, particularly food and beverage operators in high-risk locations such as inner Melbourne.
Regulatory reforms around affordability and commission transparency continue to reshape the strata landscape, with larger Owners Corporations increasingly exploring alternative risk transfer mechanisms. Ahead of renewal, accurate valuations, comprehensive building data and up-to-date maintenance records remain the most effective tools for achieving better pricing and broader coverage outcomes. Read the full update on Strata.
Workplace Risk
Workers compensation costs have been rising across Australia for several years, driven by growth in psychological injury claims, longer claim durations and deteriorating return-to-work outcomes.
Premium rates for 2026-27 do not yet reflect that pressure, with schemes across the country choosing to hold their published rates while pursuing reform. NSW has legislated a freeze on its premium target collection rate, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland have each held their average rates for consecutive years, and Western Australia stands as the only scheme to reprice, lifting recommended rates by 5.9% in response to higher claim volumes and rising average claim costs.
The reform agenda is where the real movement sits, with schemes tightening eligibility for psychological injury claims, strengthening prevention duties and transferring more of the early cost of claims to employers. The NSW reforms commencing 1 July 2026 are the most substantial of these measures, introducing a new employer excess and the most restrictive psychological injury compensability test in the country. Psychological injury remains the central challenge, now representing around 12% of serious claims nationally with time lost close to five times that of physical injuries. Psychosocial duties are enforceable and actively inspected in every jurisdiction, with further obligations to follow for AI-driven rostering, monitoring and work allocation systems.
In this environment, the strongest position belongs to employers who manage psychosocial risk with the same rigour as physical safety. The reforms reward exactly that: compensability now turns on defined conduct and reasonable management action, prevention duties are being actively inspected, and schemes are pricing employer performance. Those who embed both disciplines into how work is designed, supervised and managed will be best placed on premium, claims and regulatory outcomes. Read the full update on Workers Compensation.
Continue reading our full range of market updates:
- Insurance Market Overview: July 2026
- Claims
- Workplace Risk
- Corporate and Multinational Risk
- Construction, Property and Development
- Financial Lines
