Commercial insurance rates across Asia declined 5% in the first quarter of 2026 as increased insurer capacity and competitive pressures continued to soften pricing across major product lines, according to Marsh’s Market Index, published on Wednesday.
The decline in Asia mirrored global trends, with worldwide commercial insurance rates also falling 5% during the quarter. Pricing in Asia fell across property, casualty, financial and professional lines and cyber insurance, extending a multi-quarter trend of easing market conditions for buyers.
Property insurance rates fall for ninth consecutive quarter
Property insurance rates in Asia declined 5% in Q1 2026, unchanged from the previous three quarters, as insurer capacity and competition increased across most markets and industry segments.
Conditions enabled some insureds to secure higher limits and reduce non-concurrencies, reflecting greater flexibility in coverage structures.
Casualty insurance rates, which recorded signs of improvement in the second half of 2025, declined to 2% during the quarter, compared with a 1% decline in Q4 2025, supported by strong capacity from both regional and global insurers.
General liability rates declined or remained stable across all Asian markets. Umbrella and excess liability pricing moderated or remained flat across the region. Japan, however, emerged as an outlier where rates increased across general liability, umbrella and excess liability lines.
Rates for financial and professional lines declined 7% in Q1 2026, marking the twelfth consecutive quarter of decreases, although the pace of decline slowed from a 10% fall in the prior quarter.
Directors and officers (D&O) and professional liability rates fell across most Asian markets, while financial institutions’ pricing declined broadly, subject to country-specific exceptions.
In China, the continued shift of initial public offering (IPO) activity towards regional exchanges limited large premium opportunities and increased levels of insurer competition, contributing to downward pricing pressure across financial lines.
Cyber rates fall as competition intensifies
Cyber insurance rates declined 6% in the first quarter, compared with a 10% decrease in Q4 2025, supported by increased capacity and the entry of new market participants, including managing general agents.
Competitive conditions helped maintain a favourable environment for buyers, with insurers refining policy wordings and broadening coverage to address more complex exposures such as artificial intelligence-related risks, physical cyber losses and fraud.
At the same time, rising incident frequency and increasing regulatory scrutiny prompted many organisations to integrate cyber insurance more formally into their risk management strategies. In several cases, clients reinvested premium savings into additional cyber capacity rather than reducing overall spend.
