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Climate change, extreme weather and cyberattacks, among other global trends, remain the primary factors driving inflation in premiums for specialties such as commercial property, commercial auto and cyber, according to the Unison Risk Advisors 2023 Fall Commercial State of the Market report.

For broad-based insight behind what’s affecting risk and insurance decisions and outcomes for your business, request a download of the full 2023 Fall Commercial State of the Market report here and view highlights from the report below.

Commercial Property

Commercial Property could arguably be the biggest story of the year for the insurance industry. Inflation is rapidly impacting valuations, causing premiums to soar even higher. In fact, property lines increases have hovered in the 20% range so far this year, with double-digit growth on the horizon.

• Capacity is shrinking as underwriters struggle to underwrite risks.
• Insurers are becoming more selective about the risks they will cover, particularly in areas prone to severe weather, demonstrating the immense impact of climate change.
• The reinsurance market will continue to tighten.

Cyber

Cybercriminals are seemingly targeting organizations of all sizes, and their methods are becoming more sophisticated. Though premiums for cyber liability are declining, the average ransom payment topped $740,000 in the first quarter.

• Despite increasing ransom payments, only 34% of cyber extortion attempts were monetized, a record low.
• Email phishing and business email compromise continues to be a loss leader.
• Businesses are worrying about privacy litigation based on data security disclosures, biometric collection, and pixel and tracking codes.

Updates from Other Industries

Education is facing many of the challenges that have impacted other industries, such as climate change, cyber and sexual misconduct. Following the pandemic, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety significantly increased among children, according to the National Institutes of Health. This is putting increased pressure on schools to provide the needed services.

Healthcare continues to juggle risks such as regulatory changes, supply chain disruptions and not having enough workers to adequately care for patients.

However, there are bright spots in the insurance industry. Specialty areas such as Architects & Engineers, Directors & Officers and Fiduciary are seeing flat to low increases in the 5% range.

Reach out to an Advisor

Unison Risk Advisors maintains a close watch on the trends impacting your business, and we’re planning ahead to help you combat adversity. Our advisors even provide recommendations on how to protect yourself against risk to make your organization more attractive to carriers and pay the lowest rate. All that and more is in our 2023 Fall Commercial State of the Market report, which you can request here.