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Premium growth slowed for the excess and surplus lines market in the first nine months of 2025, according to a new report from AM Best.
Through the third quarter, year-over-year premium increases were 9.7%, compared to 13.5% during the same period in 2024. In 2023, premium growth in the first three quarters was 15.5%, and it was 20.5% in 2022.
Lower premium growth over the past year is due to tougher competition within the market, especially in commercial property, cyber and directors and officers liability, the report said, as well as mounting regulatory requirements.
Over the last several years, surplus lines insurers have taken on a growing number of complex risks that admitted carriers have stepped back from covering.
"These changes have influenced both distribution and product strategies," said David Blades, associate director, AM Best, in a statement. "One such example is capacity for catastrophe-exposed property coverage, an area in which surplus lines carriers have been able to offer flexibility and customization for those kinds of risks that no longer fit standard underwriting frameworks."
Despite signs of premium moderation, the E&S market is still on track to grow. Among the largest surplus lines underwriters, nine in 10 expanded their business in the first three quarters of 2025. However, six of those saw only single-digit growth.
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