The New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council (NZUAC) Auckland Expo on August 18 comes three months after its Christchurch event and since then the direction of the country's insurance market has become easier to read. Paul Uprichard (pictured) executive director of NZUAC, says competition across commercial risks in particular has sharpened noticeably since May.
This year's Expos are themed "Forecasting a Brighter Future Together – Building Choice & Partnerships in a Volatile Market.” The format is built around the kind of granularity brokers need in a market moving at different speeds depending on the class of business.
Alongside exhibitor stands and a headline industry panel, the CPD accredited day includes Rapid Roundtables - four 10-minute sessions covering specialist lines from aviation, marine, property and commercial motor through to liability and financial lines, community housing and landlord insurance. For brokers, it's a chance to put questions to underwriting agencies on the exact classes where conditions aren't moving in lockstep with the broader market. It's a format designed for a market in motion.
"Three months on, I think the direction of travel is much clearer and the feedback I have had from brokers and underwriting agencies is that we are seeing a continuing soft market across most commercial lines with a continued increase in capacity" he said.
Greater competition should be welcome news for brokers under pressure to deliver value. However, he cautions against assuming that all risks will experience the same market conditions. Uprichard notes that “as is always the case in a soft market, maintaining rate adequacy remains fundamental to a sustainable and resilient insurance market.”
"Additionally, that doesn't mean every client or every class of business is experiencing the same soft conditions," he said. "Market conditions will continue to vary according to the underlying risk profile and factors such as New Zealand’s natural hazard exposure, risk complexity and the specialist nature of the business will continue to influence underwriting appetite and price."
The practical result, Uprichard said, is brokers have more opportunities than they have had in recent years to tailor solutions to their clients' needs. "So in this market it is now more about making the best use of available capacity and underwriting appetite to ensure the best outcomes for clients," he said.
For brokers, the challenge has increasingly shifted from finding capacity to selecting between a wider range of solutions; with more of it available, the challenge becomes knowing which of it genuinely serves the client.
Back in May, Uprichard flagged the temptation to chase short-term premium savings at the possible expense of cover quality. With competition intensifying through 2026, he said that principle hasn't changed and if anything, it is now reinforced.
“Increased competition gives brokers greater opportunity to optimise the overall solution for their clients, rather than focusing on premium alone.” Uprichard said.
So the opportunity isn't simply finding a cheaper option. It's ensuring that any premium savings are supported by appropriate cover and long-term value when clients need them most.
"Greater competition gives brokers more options than they have had in recent years," said Uprichard. "The opportunity is not simply to secure a lower premium but to use that increased choice to identify the solution that delivers the strongest overall value for the client. That means considering policy coverage, insurer financial strength, claims handling capability, underwriting expertise, service levels and the insurer or underwriting agency long-term appetite alongside price."
It's a message that echoes broader commentary on the global market. Aon's Q1 2026 global insurance market insights point to continued softening in commercial property and cyber pricing worldwide, driven by strong insurer capital positions – the same dynamic Uprichard describes as opening up capacity in New Zealand.
A market with more available capacity creates greater choice, but also more variables for brokers to assess when recommending the most appropriate solution for their clients. As previous NZUAC events have shown, brokers value opportunities to discuss changing market conditions and product development directly with the underwriting agencies.
“We recognise that this is a demanding market for brokers too as appetite and market conditions continue to evolve, so we hope the Expo gives brokers the opportunity to spend time with our members, ask questions and better understand the specialist expertise and solutions available through underwriting agencies so they can continue to identify the opportunities that best support their clients,” he said.
Uprichard's comments build on ground NZUAC first laid in Christchurch, where he described a market that was continuing to soften but remained complex and uneven overall. Three months on, the market has continued to soften across much of the commercial sector, creating greater choice for brokers while still requiring careful judgement for more complex and specialist risks.
Insurance Business New Zealand is the official media partner. This article was written in collaboration with NZUAC
