Price Forbes has added casualty lines to its cross-class follow facility, Lectio. The expansion responds to a casualty market where persistently high loss costs and nuclear verdict exposure are pushing buyers toward more reliable capacity access.
The move gives Price Forbes' clients automatic follow access behind pre-approved lead insurers for casualty placements across the US, Canada, and Australia. It brings Lectio's total premium scope to approximately $1.6 billion, up from $350 million when the facility launched in April 2021.
Lectio operates as a follow facility. Once a lead insurer has priced and accepted an initial line on a risk, Lectio's capacity follows automatically. That model is gaining traction across the London market. Amwins found in its 2026 State of the Market report that fast-follow facilities are on the rise as capital providers seek quicker access.
The US casualty segment has posted underwriting losses for 14 consecutive years, according to Guy Carpenter. That run has not ended because rates are falling. US casualty was the only major commercial line still increasing in Q2 2026, up 7%, while property, cyber, and financial lines all softened, according to Marsh figures. The market is still trying to price its way out of a structural hole, and brokers placing casualty programs in the US, Canada, and Australia are caught in the middle of that correction.
Dan Walsh, chief underwriting officer at Ardonagh Specialty, said casualty is one of Price Forbes' largest lines of business. "It provides Price Forbes with a critical competitive advantage, allowing us to offer long-term sustainable capacity to our clients through all insurance cycles," Walsh said.
The commitment to capacity across all cycles matters most in casualty, where follow lines can dry up quickly when conditions tighten. Casualty capacity on the lead layer has become harder to assemble. The first $10 million of limit has become especially constrained, with multiple carriers now needed to build what a single lead once covered.
A pre-approved follow facility addresses that friction directly. Brokers get committed follow capacity behind a confirmed lead without rebuilding the tower each renewal.
The US, Canada, and Australia are three markets where social inflation and litigation trends run highest. Reliable follow capacity matters most at renewal in precisely those geographies.
Casualty is the latest in a series of class additions that have taken Lectio well beyond its original scope. The facility launched with cargo, specie, financial products, healthcare, and marine. It has since added aviation, construction/builders risk, cyber, energy, financial institutions, power, and worldwide property.
Price Forbes is a unit of Ardonagh Specialty, itself part of the Ardonagh Group, which manages approximately $18 billion in premium globally.
