The property insurance market is showing early signs of easing after several years of historic hard-market conditions.
While there are strong signals of a softening market, at least one specialist believes the underwriting discipline tied to the previous hard market remains firmly embedded in the industry.
“The underwriting guidelines put in place during the hard market aren’t going to be lifted,” said Travis Hodges (pictured). “But in many areas where the answer used to be a firm ‘no,’ those ‘no’s’ may now be turning into ‘maybes.’”
Hodges, managing director at VIU by HUB, spoke with Insurance Business about how brokers and agents can position their clients amid these evolving dynamics.
“Insurance companies have had a strong financial year in 2025, so they're reinvesting it in the rates, making it more attractive for the consumer,” Hodges told Insurance Business.
“Throughout 2025, there has been growing optimism, and that has quickly evolved and changed into action. Those actions will create choices and price favorability for clients.”
According to Swiss Re’s US property & casualty outlook, premium growth is expected to slow to around 5% in 2025 and 4% in 2026, with an expected return on equity of around 10% for both years. Similarly, Marsh’s Global Insurance Market Index reports that US property insurance composite rates declined by about 9 % in Q3 2025, signalling capacity growth and competitive pressure.
Hodges pointed to three drivers behind the improving sentiment: a relatively uneventful US hurricane season thus far; strong investment returns by carriers; and a growing appetite among insurers to re-enter risk markets.
Despite these factors, he believed insurers are maintaining many of the stricter guidelines and cost-sharing measures adopted during the hard-market peak.
And while standard-risk geographies are gaining leverage, high-peril zones (coastal, wildfire-prone) remain under stress. Carriers in risk-intense areas will likely re-enter cautiously: “putting their toe in” rather than dispensing underwriting discipline, said Hodges. Average-risk homeowners may now benefit from softened rates and expanded capacity, but those in hazard-zones remain challenged.
“Even as insurers begin to re-enter high-risk areas, they’ll do so very cautiously,” Hodges said. “The tighter guidelines, larger deductibles and expectations that clients take on more of the risk will remain.”
Hodges emphasized continued vigilance in areas prone to hurricanes or wildfires, including California and the Gulf Coast. Even there, he believes the conditions are “less challenged currently than they were in the last couple years.”
Hodges urged brokers to “shop” the market proactively rather than assume renewal terms are satisfactory. Clients willing to retain more risk (i.e., via higher deductibles) will find better carrier matches.
“Options are power,” Hodges said. “The broker can help give the client that power by knowing what’s out there.”
At the same time, brokers and agents must stay alert to property class and geography, with higher deductibles, stricter terms, and risk sharing likely to persist in high-exposure zones.
Hodges also highlighted the role of smart-home technologies in loss mitigation. Data from the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) found that water damage claims (including damage incurred from freezing temperatures or burst pipes) were the third-most frequently filed insurance claim for property damage, making up nearly 24% of all homeowners' insurance claims in 2021. Carriers are increasingly offering mitigation tools to consumers at incentive prices.
“Having sensors in places like bathrooms, laundry rooms or near a water heater can make a big difference,” Hodges said. “(Water damage) incidents rarely happen when you’re home; they happen when you’re at work or on vacation, and by the time you return, the damage has escalated dramatically.”
