Insurance Market Update: Casualty
Pressure on Markets
Litigation trends are driving more frequent and costly liability claims, particularly in sectors like construction, healthcare, retail, and professional services.
Social inflation - higher jury awards and legal costs - continues to put upward pressure on premiums.
Emerging & Evolving Risks
Emerging risks such as PFAS exposure, workplace mental health, and ESG-related liabilities are under close scrutiny by underwriters.
Cyber-linked liability is gaining attention, particularly where technology failures (e.g., in healthcare or autonomous systems) lead to bodily injury or financial loss - creating overlap between Cyber and General Liability policies and increasing the risk of coverage disputes without clear wording and coordinated placement.
Bushfires present a growing aggregation risk, with a single event potentially triggering multiple liability claims. Insurers are tightening underwriting in high-exposure regions as a result.
Workers Compensation Recoveries
The casualty market continues to face claims inflation, driven by social/legal trends and rising litigation costs. Workers' Compensation recoveries are adding pressure - statutory insurers are aggressively pursuing third-party recoveries, often with inflated or bundled costs (e.g., wages, medical, future care).
This is blowing out reserves and impacting loss ratios, particularly in high-frequency sectors like construction, logistics, and manufacturing.
Insurers are responding with tighter wording, stricter causation tests, and more selective underwriting, contributing to higher excesses, more exclusions, and some upward pressure on casualty premiums.
Jasmin Gabrielli
Jasmin is an experienced insurance professional with over 11 years of general broking expertise across a diverse range of general and hard-to-place specialty lines specifically in commercial applications.
Pressure on Markets
Litigation trends are driving more frequent and costly liability claims, particularly in sectors like construction, healthcare, retail, and professional services.
Social inflation - higher jury awards and legal costs - continues to put upward pressure on premiums.
Emerging & Evolving Risks
Emerging risks such as PFAS exposure, workplace mental health, and ESG-related liabilities are under close scrutiny by underwriters.
Cyber-linked liability is gaining attention, particularly where technology failures (e.g., in healthcare or autonomous systems) lead to bodily injury or financial loss - creating overlap between Cyber and General Liability policies and increasing the risk of coverage disputes without clear wording and coordinated placement.
Bushfires present a growing aggregation risk, with a single event potentially triggering multiple liability claims. Insurers are tightening underwriting in high-exposure regions as a result.
Workers Compensation Recoveries
The casualty market continues to face claims inflation, driven by social/legal trends and rising litigation costs. Workers' Compensation recoveries are adding pressure - statutory insurers are aggressively pursuing third-party recoveries, often with inflated or bundled costs (e.g., wages, medical, future care).
This is blowing out reserves and impacting loss ratios, particularly in high-frequency sectors like construction, logistics, and manufacturing.
Insurers are responding with tighter wording, stricter causation tests, and more selective underwriting, contributing to higher excesses, more exclusions, and some upward pressure on casualty premiums.
Jasmin Gabrielli
Jasmin is an experienced insurance professional with over 11 years of general broking expertise across a diverse range of general and hard-to-place specialty lines specifically in commercial applications.
Pressure on Markets
Litigation trends are driving more frequent and costly liability claims, particularly in sectors like construction, healthcare, retail, and professional services.
Social inflation - higher jury awards and legal costs - continues to put upward pressure on premiums.
Emerging & Evolving Risks
Emerging risks such as PFAS exposure, workplace mental health, and ESG-related liabilities are under close scrutiny by underwriters.
Cyber-linked liability is gaining attention, particularly where technology failures (e.g., in healthcare or autonomous systems) lead to bodily injury or financial loss - creating overlap between Cyber and General Liability policies and increasing the risk of coverage disputes without clear wording and coordinated placement.
Bushfires present a growing aggregation risk, with a single event potentially triggering multiple liability claims. Insurers are tightening underwriting in high-exposure regions as a result.
Workers Compensation Recoveries
The casualty market continues to face claims inflation, driven by social/legal trends and rising litigation costs. Workers' Compensation recoveries are adding pressure - statutory insurers are aggressively pursuing third-party recoveries, often with inflated or bundled costs (e.g., wages, medical, future care).
This is blowing out reserves and impacting loss ratios, particularly in high-frequency sectors like construction, logistics, and manufacturing.
Insurers are responding with tighter wording, stricter causation tests, and more selective underwriting, contributing to higher excesses, more exclusions, and some upward pressure on casualty premiums.
Jasmin Gabrielli
Jasmin is an experienced insurance professional with over 11 years of general broking expertise across a diverse range of general and hard-to-place specialty lines specifically in commercial applications.
