Excess and surplus line carriers had a particularly strong showing during this past year, according to S&P Global's list of the top-rated U.S. property & casualty insurers, with four of the top eight spots going to E&S carriers. According to Tim Zawacki, principal research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, E&S lines insurers are rapidly growing as capacity demands for coastal areas continue to outpace supply. "The U.S. Property and Casualty Insurance Performance Rankings, which gave several leading E&S carriers top marks for both growth and profitability, suggest that public and private investors' recent enthusiasm for this business model has been well place," Zawacki said in a release. This move toward E&S is highlighted by the strong growth the sector has seen in cyber insurance. According to AM Best, The surplus lines sector saw direct written premiums increase more than 500% during 2020 and 2021. Surplus line insurers now account for more than 60% of direct cyber premiums written. The above slideshow reveals the 10 highest-rated U.S. commercial line insurers on S&P Global's P&C rankings, which were based on 13 financial metrics from 2022 statutory filings grouped into six buckets: rates of return, underwriting profitability, balance sheet expansion, investment performance, prior-accident-year reserve development and premium growth. Related: |

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