Despite the ongoing rise of liability claim costs and nuclear verdicts, a slight moderation of excess casualty rates was observed in Q1 2025. Fatigued by year-over-year cumulative rate increases, insureds sought alternatives to meet budget and risk tolerance requirements through aggressive marketing and the ability to leverage a competitive environment as the casualty market continues to grow.

The use of alternative risk transfer and creative program structuring has increased to combat YOY compounding price. As insureds continue to explore large, selfinsured retentions, captives, and multi-year aggregated programs, E&S carriers will need to respond to retain primary and buffer layers. Requiring a higher level of risk tolerance and financial wherewithal, such solutions are not viable for all insureds; however, it is a trend worth noting.

While price moderation and alternative deal structuring brought welcome relief to some, the market remained challenging overall. The number of Q1 accounts with increases above +10% was significant; the upper range dominated by risks with adverse development, tough auto, and/or third-party bodily injury exposures. Carriers continued to re-underwrite these risks in hard market fashion by repricing, cutting capacity and restricting coverage. For small to mid-sized accounts, E&S underwriters embarked on flight to quality campaigns to attract more market share; however, broad coverage comes at a cost and many insureds were willing to forgo coverage for reduced pricing.