This article was produced in partnership with Amwins.
After several challenging years in the commercial property market, rates have started to fall. Improved catastrophe loss ratios, increased capacity, and a cooling reinsurance market have opened the door for more competitive pricing.
But while property rates are softening, buyers and brokers alike should be cautious not to conflate lower premiums with better deals.
Securing favorable pricing is important, but the real value of a property insurance policy goes far beyond the number on the bottom line, wholesale specialists at Amwins told Insurance Business.
What was once a fiercely hard market marked by tight capacity, high rates, and restrictive terms has, over the last year and a half, softened in dramatic fashion. That change didn’t come overnight, according to Michelle Yuko (pictured on the right), EVP at Amwins Insurance Brokerage.
Yuko traces the start of the hard market shift in November 2023. “It was very subtle, but the change was underway,” she said. One of the earliest signs came when underwriters started agreeing to changes that they would’ve rejected in the past.
Jennifer Klassen (pictured on the left), EVP at Amwins Insurance Brokerage, noted that the real turning point came as new entrants, many without the baggage of previous losses, started to circle the market, eager to compete.
“Because they didn't have an existing portfolio or much of one, and they didn’t have losses, they were willing to compete aggressively for the risks,” Klassen said. “The only way renewal carriers could keep accounts was to undercut their competitors or offer better terms.”
Pricing in the property market hasn’t hit bottom, according to the Amwins leaders. “Pricing will continue to decrease, capacity will continue to increase, and terms will become even more favorable for insureds,” said Klassen.
Yuko sees the opportunity now to fix what was lost in the tightening of recent years. Brokers now have more leverage when it comes to structuring favorable deals. However, a strong deal is still about more than price; terms, conditions, and structure can make or break coverage when a loss occurs.
“What coverages have been taken away from specific insureds and accounts, and how can we add back and start to strengthen the deal for the 2025–26 policy year?” Yuko asked. “That's where our value-add lies.”
Against this backdrop, brokers face a different kind of challenge. When price becomes the story, many may overlook the actual substance of a deal.
The Amwins specialists stressed the most important considerations in a property policy:
The structure of a property program will vary significantly based on both the size of the account and its geographic footprint. For large accounts, it’s common to layer coverage across multiple carriers. This diversifies risk and prevents overreliance on a single market, which is especially important if a carrier pulls back or exits the segment.
“There’s more stability in the pricing as you have more carriers on it,” Klassen explained. “If you’ve got $2.5 million to $5 million capacity from all the carriers on your placement, and one carrier needs to be moved out, someone else can be moved in. It’s more fluid, and easier to keep the same terms and conditions.”
In catastrophe-prone areas like Florida, California, or the Gulf Coast, the cost and availability of coverage can shift dramatically. Carriers may tighten terms by applying higher deductibles, lower sub-limits, or requiring more specialized risk mitigation strategies.
Klassen highlighted the importance of scrutinizing carriers’ financial ratings, noting that some have gone out of business, leaving insureds without coverage and claims payments. Choosing a carrier solely on price can result in being left with "pennies on the dollar" if the carrier becomes insolvent.
To help mitigate this risk, Amwins has a dedicated department that analyzes carriers before establishing appointments, providing an extra layer of protection for retail brokers and clients. Ultimately, Klassen and Yuko stressed that long-term relationships with financially stable carriers are more valuable than short-term cost savings.
With the market’s softening, choice, leverage, and precision have returned to the broker’s toolbox. Yuko encouraged retailers to take advantage of additional capacity to get their clients the best deal, not just the cheapest.
“Just like when you’re shopping, you want to try on a few things. The same goes for insurance,” Yuko said. “Clients want to explore options. And in today’s market, we have more ways than ever to do that.”
Working with a trusted wholesaler can be the difference between a quick placement and a strategic, future-proof solution.
Amwins brings several key advantages to the table: resources, including catastrophe modelling and sophisticated analytics; specialized knowledge of both industries and insurance; access to exclusive E&S, international, or wholesale-only markets; and, most importantly, the leverage to negotiate stronger terms and conditions.
“There’s so much value in a wholesale broker, especially in a soft market where there’s an abundance of capacity,” said Klassen. “From a broker standpoint, we value our relationships with our carriers. We value our relationships with our agents. We know what’s available and how to work with the carriers to achieve maximum results.”
Access to tools like valuation resources and advanced analytics isn’t just a luxury; in a complex property market, it’s a necessity. Yuko said Amwins’ capabilities truly shone when she handled valuations for an account with nearly $1.2 billion in property values, a longtime client of an unrated carrier that suddenly went insolvent.
“They hadn’t done the appraisals or looked at any of these buildings in such a long time,” she recalled. The team flew out to visit the top 20 to 25 probable maximum loss (PML) drivers, relying on RMS to pinpoint vulnerabilities.
“We gathered as much information as we could, including secondary characteristics, and validated all of it. We put it back into the model, and it improved the profile by about 18 to 19%,” Yuko said. “That improvement allowed carriers to offer capacity and retention levels that were very close to what the insured previously had before the insolvency.”
Finally, specialization is what sets wholesale apart in the property market. When something falls outside their lane, Amwins wholesalers have a deep well of expertise to draw from. “If it’s something not in our wheelhouse, we’ll find another Amwins specialist and we will link you up with them,” Klassen said.
With rates on the decline, this is an opportune time to secure better pricing – but not at the expense of quality, stability, or coverage integrity. A comprehensive property insurance strategy balances cost with risk, and Amwins can help ensure your clients get the best of both.
Learn more about the Property expertise and exclusive offerings through Amwins Brokerage at amwins.com/property.
