The U.S. Surplus Lines Market Continues to Shine: ALIRT Insurance Research Releases Its Annual E&S Market Update

In a recent client release, ALIRT discusses the ongoing strong performance of both the broad U.S. excess & surplus lines market as well as leading surplus lines insurers through 6 months of 2025.

HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ALIRT recently released its annual Surplus Lines study, both to corroborate what others in the industry are seeing as well as to provide an update as of the Six Month 2025 reporting period for this important and growing sector of the U.S. property & casualty industry.

This study first considers the overall U.S. surplus lines industry based on insights gleaned from both A.M. Best and U.S. Surplus Lines Service and Stamping Offices. It then reviews the historical development of its own 50-company E&S Lines Composite up to and through the 6 month 2025 reported financial results, including commentary on revenue growth, earnings trends, and balance sheet strength. It concludes with a discussion of the financial profiles/ALIRT Scores of each of the composite insurers, ranked high to low.

General findings:

• Unsurprisingly, the performance trends of ALIRT's 50-Company E&S Composite reflect those of the overall surplus lines market, showing outsized revenue growth relative to the broader U.S. property & casualty industry as well as surging profitability margins over the past three and a half years especially.
  
  
• As regards the operating performance of leading individual surplus lines insurers, ALIRT reports that none of the 50 E&S Composite members fell outside its historically normal scoring range (39-61) as of 6 months 2025, while seventeen carriers in the cohort actually outperformed this range. Appendices list the historical score performance for each of the composite insurers.
  
  
• ALIRT continues to believe that the U.S. E&S market is best viewed through the lens of the larger U.S. P&C industry given that the vast majority of surplus lines insurers are tightly integrated into larger insurance organizations. This can be seen in their extensive participation in intercompany pools (often 100% reinsured) or other affiliate reinsurance arrangements. 

That said, the report concludes by underscoring that "while still a relatively small portion of the overall E&S market, ALIRT has witnessed an influx of new specialty carrier launches since 2018 (and especially over the past five years). Many of these new insurers were established to take advantage of an attractive pricing environment and perceived growth of permanent niche underwriting opportunities, securing an A- A.M. Best rating on the strength of seasoned management and initial capital raises. How these carriers will perform once E&S market pricing/opportunities ease is an important consideration and one that ALIRT will be closely monitoring."

For more information, please contact David Paul at david.paul@alirtresearch.com

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SOURCE ALIRT Insurance Research