Starkweather & Shepley’s 2026 Mid Year Insurance Outlook

A Market That Rewards Strong Risk Management

The broad rate increases we’ve experienced over the past several years are beginning to level off for many organizations. That doesn’t mean every renewal looks the same.

Organizations with favorable loss experience and operations that do not include higher-hazard services, generally experienced package and umbrella increases in the 5 to 10 percent range before exposure changes. While decreases were uncommon, many renewed with far less disruption than they experienced only a few years ago.

Organizations with higher-hazard operations or loss ratios above 50 -75 percent faced a much different outcome. Premium increases of 10 to 20 percent remained common, and some experienced substantially larger increases. Capacity also remains a challenge. Higher liability limits are harder to obtain, and coverage terms are often more restrictive.

The difference today often has less to do with the insurance market and more to do with how an organization operates.

Underwriters still review financial statements and claims history, but those documents tell only part of the story. They also want to understand how employees are trained, how incidents are investigated, how quality is monitored, how leadership responds to claims, and whether the board and executive team are engaged in oversight.

That makes the renewal submissions more important than ever. It should explain operational improvements, address significant claims honestly, highlight investments in safety and quality, and demonstrate why the organization represents a well-managed risk. The strongest submissions don’t simply ask for better pricing and coverage terms. They explain why the organization has earned it.

Property Shows Signs of Stability

Property insurance produced some of the most encouraging results during this renewal cycle.

For many organizations with favorable property loss experience, rates were generally flat or modestly lower than the prior year. After several years of increases driven by catastrophic weather events, inflation, and rising construction costs, that represents meaningful progress.

Carriers are still underwriting property carefully. Replacement cost valuations remain under close scrutiny, along with roof age, building condition, catastrophe exposure, fire protection systems, and preventative maintenance.

This is a good opportunity to review insured values and update appraisals where appropriate. Buildings that have not been revalued in several years may no longer reflect today’s replacement costs. 

Casualty Market Update 

Casualty insurance continues to be the most challenging segment of the human services insurance marketplace. Capacity remains limited across the liability lines, particularly for organizations with more complex operations or adverse claims experience.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies remains the leading carrier for many human service organizations. Great American, Irwin Siegel, Nationwide, regional insurers, specialty carriers, and managing general agencies (MGAs) continue to compete for well-managed accounts. Even so, underwriting discipline remains high, and many organizations have fewer options than they did just a few years ago.

Professional liability and abuse and molestation continue to receive significant underwriting scrutiny. Umbrella liability remains the greatest challenge. Most primary carriers are unwilling to provide more than $5 million in excess liability limits, and available capacity often includes sub-limits or other restrictions affecting professional liability and abuse and molestation coverage.

One encouraging development is the gradual return of additional excess liability capacity. While it often comes at a higher cost and may be written on a claims-made basis rather than occurrence coverage, it provides larger organizations with more flexibility than was available just a year ago.

One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is how casualty risks are evaluated. A favorable claims history is still important, but it is no longer enough. Carriers want to understand how an organization is managed. They look closely at leadership, governance, employee training, supervision, quality assurance, incident reporting, and an organization’s willingness to learn from claims and make operational improvements. Those conversations now influence underwriting decisions every bit as much as the loss runs themselves.

Many insurers are also investing more heavily in loss control services. Fleet safety programs, telematics, online training, workplace safety consultations, policy reviews, and water leak detection technology help organizations reduce losses before they occur. Organizations that take advantage of these resources are often better positioned at renewal and over the long term.

Claims management deserves the same level of attention. Regular strategy meetings involving organizational leadership, the insurance advisor, carrier claims professionals, and defense counsel help identify trends, improve reserve accuracy, control claim costs, and resolve claims more effectively. The organizations that achieve the strongest long-term results don’t just buy insurance well. They manage claims well.

Automobile liability remains one of the largest catastrophic exposures facing many human service organizations. Executive leadership should periodically evaluate liability limits, fleet safety programs, driver screening, and vehicle monitoring practices to ensure they reflect today’s litigation environment and the organization’s overall risk profile.

The strongest casualty renewals are not built in the weeks before expiration. They are the result of year-round collaboration among leadership, the insurance advisor, the insurance carrier, and a shared commitment to preventing losses before they occur.

Legislation Continues to Shape the Market

Legislative changes affecting abuse and molestation claims continue to influence the human services insurance market.

Several states have expanded statutes of limitation or created revival windows for historical claims. California and New York led many of these changes, and Rhode Island adopted similar legislation during the 2026 legislative session. Other states are considering similar measures.

These laws have changed the way insurers evaluate organizations that serve vulnerable populations. Claims may involve incidents that occurred decades ago under different leadership, staffing, policies, and insurance programs. That uncertainty continues to affect underwriting, pricing, and available capacity.

While organizations cannot change the past, they can demonstrate how they operate today. Strong hiring practices, background screening, employee training, active supervision, documentation, incident reporting, and abuse prevention protocols remain important underwriting considerations and reflect a culture committed to protecting the people it serves.

Board oversight is equally important. Directors should understand the organization’s prevention efforts, reporting procedures, and insurance program as part of their broader governance responsibilities.

AI Requires Clear Governance

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday operations across the human services sector. Employees are using AI to draft correspondence, summarize documents, conduct research, improve communications, and increase productivity.

The greatest risk is not the technology itself. It is using AI without appropriate governance. Uploading protected health information, personally identifiable information, financial records, or other confidential data into public AI platforms can create significant privacy, regulatory, cybersecurity, and reputational risks.

Every organization should establish clear policies governing AI use. Employees should understand which platforms are approved, what information can and cannot be shared, when human review is required, and who is responsible for oversight.

Executive leadership should also review cyber insurance coverage with its insurance advisor and technology partners to confirm that policy limits, privacy liability, social engineering coverage, and incident response resources remain aligned with today’s evolving exposures.

Organizations that establish thoughtful AI governance now will be better prepared to take advantage of the technology while protecting the people they serve, their data, and their mission.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 renewal cycle showed that the market is beginning to stabilize, but not every organization is experiencing the same results.

Today’s underwriting decisions extend well beyond applications and financial statements. Carriers are looking for evidence of strong leadership, sound governance, effective claims management, employee training, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Organizations that demonstrate these strengths continue to distinguish themselves in the marketplace.

The encouraging news is that many of these factors are within an organization’s control. Investments in people, operational discipline, loss prevention, cybersecurity, fleet safety, and board oversight not only strengthen the organization, they also improve insurance outcomes.

Insurance should no longer be viewed as an annual purchase discussed a few weeks before renewal. It is a reflection of how an organization is managed.

The organizations achieving the strongest long-term results share a common philosophy. They don’t wait for renewal to think about insurance. They build stronger organizations every day, and their insurance program becomes a natural outcome of that commitment.

 

About the Author

Sean Cottrell is Senior Vice President, Human Services Practice Leader, and a Member of the Board of Directors at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage. For more than 20 years, he has advised human service organizations across the country on insurance, risk management, and claims strategy. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and insurance carrier panels, addressing emerging risks and insurance trends affecting the human services sector. Sean also helped establish the Assurex Global Nonprofit Practice Group.