US P/C Rebounds to Post Q1 Underwriting Gain; Net Income Doubles

Private U.S. property/casualty insurers posted a first quarter 2026 underwriting gain of $15.8 billion—quite the reversal after recording an underwriting loss of $864 million for the first three months last year.

A new report from Verisk and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) said after tax net income for this portion of the industry more than doubled to $40.9 billion in Q1 2026.

“Industry profitability improved in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, driven largely by moderating inflation and an unusual respite from natural catastrophes over the past 12 months,” said Robert Gordon, senior vice president, policy, research and international, APCIA.

Industry financial results were about in line with those of AM Best, who said the industry booked a $16.3 billion underwriting gain for Q1.

“First-quarter results reflected meaningful improvements, most notably in personal auto, but slower premium growth and continued pressure in casualty underscore an uneven recovery across the market,” said Saurabh Khemka, president of Verisk Underwriting Solutions. “Heading into the 2026 hurricane season, a critical focus for the industry is the potential for catastrophic activity to impact full-year performance. Profitability will need to hold through historically more active second and third quarters, as even in otherwise calm El Niño years, a single event can materially shift outcomes.”

Khemka said insurers’ use of artificial intelligence and other granular data has improved how risks are selected, priced, and managed. Carriers are using more granular data and AI to improve insight into how specific risks are selected, priced and managed across their portfolios, bringing greater discipline to underwriting at scale.

Growth in net written premiums slowed to up 2.9% for Q1 compared with up 6.8% in Q1 2025. The first quarters of 2024, 2023, 2022 saw net premiums increase 9% to 10%.