Markel Insurance posted a 93% combined ratio and adjusted operating income of US$376 million for the second quarter of 2026, up 40% year on year. The result held despite two points of losses from the Middle East conflict and a two-point drag from the group's exited global reinsurance division.
Underlying premium growth was stronger than headline figures suggest. On an adjusted basis, gross premium volume rose 10% for both the quarter and the first half. The reported figure fell 15% in the quarter to US$2.39 billion, driven by two structural exits from the prior year.
That decline reflects the August 2025 sale of global reinsurance renewal rights to Nationwide and the shift of the Hagerty classic-car business to a fronting arrangement from January 2026, under which Hagerty Re assumed the underwriting economics.
Underwriting profit for the insurance segment more than doubled year on year, climbing 125% to US$142 million for the quarter and 98% to US$284 million for the first half. Net investment income in the insurance unit rose 11% to US$231 million for the quarter. Year to date, the segment's adjusted operating income reached US$746 million, up 35% on the same period in 2025.
The Middle East conflict added two points to the combined ratio for the quarter. The ratio held at 93%, matching the Q1 2026 result and improving three points against the 96% recorded for the first half of 2025.
At the group level, operating revenues were US$4 billion for the quarter and US$7.6 billion year to date, both broadly flat against comparable 2025 periods. Consolidated adjusted operating income was US$436 million for the quarter, down from US$578 million a year earlier. A US$148.9 million loss in the financial segment, against a US$78.4 million profit in Q2 2025, was the primary drag.
Group-level operating income reached US$1.56 billion for the quarter, up from US$1.11 billion a year earlier. Net investment gains of US$1.17 billion, largely unrealized equity portfolio movements, swung sharply positive relative to Q2 2025. The group repurchased US$237 million of shares in the quarter and US$371 million year to date.
Chief executive Tom Gayner said the first half saw insurance underwriting improve, businesses generate strong cash flow, and capital deployed with discipline. He added that the group's diversified businesses generated nearly US$1 billion of adjusted operating income year to date and that improvement in insurance operations should continue through the balance of 2026.
The Q2 result reflects what Markel described as "continued progress" on a reorganization that began in 2025 with the appointment of Simon Wilson as chief executive officer of Markel Insurance. Wilson is concentrating the unit on core specialty lines while exiting portfolios that did not meet profitability targets, including the risk-managed D&O book and, most significantly, the global reinsurance division.
