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US property and casualty insurers see biggest underwriting profit in a decade
AM Best said the sector generated $84 billion in underwriting gains over the past two calendar years, after $51 billion of losses from 2021 to 2023.
In 2025, the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry posted its strongest underwriting results in a decade, recording its largest underwriting profit and lowest combined ratio in that span, according to an AM Best report summarized by Reinsurance News.
AM Best estimated the industry generated $84 billion in underwriting gains over the past two full calendar years, following $51 billion in underwriting losses from 2021 through 2023. It said the turnaround began in 2024 with a $45 billion gain and continued into 2025, even with notable early-year losses linked to Los Angeles wildfires in January.
The report highlighted that the personal lines segment’s underwriting profit nearly quadrupled to $45.7 billion in 2025, and that segment accounted for 51% of total industry direct premiums written. Commercial lines profit more than doubled to $19.2 billion, with the analysis also pointing to a shift in private passenger auto where the combined ratio fell below 100 in both 2024 and 2025, after being above that threshold in the prior three years.
AM Best attributed improved performance in part to technology and data analytics supporting underwriting, claims handling, and ratemaking, while it warned that certain casualty lines remain pressured by adverse development and higher claims severity. It also said workers’ compensation has continued to positively contribute to aggregate commercial lines results, though underwriting margins there have narrowed as rates decline.