State of the P&C insurance market in Q3 2020

The past 18-24 months have seen hard market conditions, and Q3 was no exception as these trends are expected to continue into 2021 and perhaps further, according to Burns & Wilcox, Ltd. (credit: iQoncept/Shutterstock.com)

The U.S. property & casualty (P&C) market continued building on the momentum from the first half of the year into the third quarter, according to Burns & Wilcox, Ltd., which reported insurers and reinsurers remain committed to underwriting profitability through close management of rates, terms, conditions and spread of risk.

While the market is trending up, incoming quarterly earnings reports are showing mixed signs, according to Burns & Wilcox, with some margins seen significant declines, while others met or exceeded estimates. The differing results were primarily due to COVID-19 losses, as some carriers took reserves earlier in the year while others maintained a wait-and-see approach. An extremely active hurricane season, which saw more named storms coming ashore than in any previous year, also had an impact on Q3 results.