The latest Insurance Marketplace Realities report from Willis highlights opportunities for buyers from ample capital, growing capacity, and renewed competition, signalling a healthy buyer’s market in 2025.

Willis, part of global insurance broking group WTW, notes that the commercial insurance market is operating from a place of historical financial strength, as policyholder surplus in the US exceeds $1 trillion and global reinsurance capital exceeds $700 billion.

As the report highlights, insurers are pursuing growth strategies amid an expectation that rate adequacy has largely stabilised, leading to broader underwriting appetites and more competitive pricing.

Jon Drummond, Head of Broking North America at Willis, said: “Buyers are finding more negotiating power and flexibility in today’s market. It’s a moment to reassess strategies, re-engage in broader risk financing strategies, and secure the coverage depth, or other program enhancements, that may have been limited during the hard market cycle.”

According to Willis, increased capacity is a “standout” in this evolving landscape, with even challenged areas like excess casualty seeing a modest rise in new capacity in recent times.

For 2025, Willis has made some key price predictions, including -10% to +10% for cat-exposed property, and -5% to +5% for non-cat exposed property. For domestic casualty lines, the outlook is positive for numerous lines and mixed for others, including +10% to +20% for auto and -5% to +2% for workers’ comp.

The outlook for executive risk is down to flat for D&O, but positive for E&O. Cyber rates are predicted to be down 5% to up 5% in 2025, while the political risk pricing outlook is flat to up 20%.

“Willis is bullish on market opportunities stemming from ample capital, growing capacity, and renewed competition, and believes that this signals a healthy buyer’s market in 2025. Well-prepared buyers who clearly communicate risks, while leveraging strong brokerage relationships, are best positioned to benefit from the current market,” says the firm.

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