QBE Insurance Group (QBE) reported adjusted net profit after tax of US$1,033 million for the half year ended June 30 2026, up from US$997 million a year earlier. The return on equity (ROE) of 17.7% was comfortably above its medium-term target of 15%+, according to the company's half-year results announcement.
"QBE has entered its 140th year with good momentum, supported by a strong balance sheet, a clear strategy and disciplined execution," group CEO Andrew Horton (pictured) said in the company's half-year investor report, marking 140 years since the insurer's founding in 1886.
For US brokers, the most immediate signal is QBE's targeted underwriting actions in accident & health and its exit of a workers' compensation program - both moves brokers with clients in those lines should factor into placement strategy now, given QBE said the actions were behind a temporary reduction in North America volume even as growth continued elsewhere. Outside those lines, North America premium rate increases tracked in the high-single digits, an improvement on the prior period, which brokers can use to set client expectations for continued but moderating rate pressure.
Crop insurance delivered a standout combined operating ratio of 86.0% for the half, with the current accident year result improving to 94.1% from 95.2% - a strong signal of underwriting discipline for brokers working in the agribusiness and crop insurance space, even as increased cessions to the federal program mean net insurance revenue is expected to stay broadly flat. Brokers should also note that QBE's group-wide average renewal rate increase fell to just 0.3% for the half, down from 2.1% a year earlier, as rates softened in property and select Lloyd's portfolios - useful context for brokers renewing property books with international exposure.
QBE flagged a reinsurance transaction to de-risk around US$1.6 billion of long-tail reserves tied to exited North American and International business lines, alongside a new primary insurance offering launched in Bermuda for large corporate risks - both relevant for brokers placing complex or specialty US business through international markets. QBE's Prescribed Capital Amount (PCA) multiple stood at 1.82 times, a capital position brokers can point to when discussing insurer stability with clients navigating a market still working through accident & health claims inflation.
