Westfield Specialty reported gross written premium of US$1.18 billion for the first half of 2026, up 25% from the same period a year earlier, alongside a combined ratio of 94.3%, according to the company's half-year results.
Second-quarter premium alone rose 20% year on year to US$622 million, with the combined ratio improving to 93.3% for the quarter. That followed a first quarter in which gross written premium came in at US$559 million, up 31% year on year, with a 95.7% combined ratio, meaning the carrier improved its combined ratio by more than two points between the first and second quarters while still growing premium at a double-digit rate.
The half-year figures show Westfield Specialty's growth accelerating through the year rather than simply holding steady. That trajectory follows a full 2025 in which Westfield Specialty wrote US$1.93 billion in gross written premium at a 93.1% combined ratio, split roughly 55% from its US business and 45% from its international operations.
The company's Specialty US platform, which includes its Surety business, generated US$642 million in gross written premium for the half, up 26% year on year, with a 93.7% combined ratio. Specialty International contributed US$540 million, up 23%, with a 94.8% combined ratio.
Westfield attributed the US platform's growth to strong new business momentum and broad-based expansion across products, tempered by what the company described as disciplined underwriting actions in more competitive segments.
On the international side, growth was tied to the platform's diversification strategy, continued investment in underwriting talent, deeper broker relationships and rising contributions from newer capabilities.
Jack Kuhn, president of Westfield Specialty, credited the results to the breadth of the company's underwriting portfolio.
"We are pleased with our half-year results. We continue to gain the benefits of all the investments we have made across the portfolio," he said. Kuhn pointed to the company's diversified book, underwriting discipline and expense management as the drivers behind the performance.
Westfield's growth is notable set against what some competitors have reported for the same period. Kinsale Capital Group, one of the larger publicly traded excess and surplus lines carriers, reported gross written premium of US$1.01 billion for the first half of 2026, down 2.9% from the prior year, driven primarily by a 30.9% decline in its commercial property division amid intensifying competition in that line.
Excluding commercial property, Kinsale's gross written premium actually rose 4.8% for the half, reflecting continued strong submission flow across its other divisions.
Kinsale's results illustrate a market in which commercial property pricing has been softening broadly this year, a trend Insurance Business has tracked across WSIA's midyear E&S data, which found property rates easing even as casualty lines continued to harden.
Westfield's own release specifically referenced disciplined underwriting actions in areas experiencing more competitive market conditions, language that suggests the carrier is navigating the same property softening Kinsale flagged, but offsetting it with growth elsewhere in a more diversified book spanning surety, international specialty lines and newer underwriting capabilities.
For brokers and MGAs placing specialty business, Westfield's ability to grow premium and improve its combined ratio simultaneously, even as a comparably sized peer pulled back in property, suggests capacity is becoming more differentiated by carrier rather than moving uniformly with the cycle. Westfield's own language about disciplined underwriting in competitive segments suggests brokers should expect continued selectivity in property placements even as the carrier pushes for growth elsewhere in its book.
