As the wholesale property market heads into the second half of 2026, it continues to be competitive with rates trending downward and pressure intensifying across many segments. While some capacity is moving into the admitted market, new risks and extreme weather events are moving other policy needs directly into the wholesale channel.
“When loss frequency rises and aggregation becomes harder to manage at the portfolio level, some admitted carriers step back, which naturally pushes risk into the wholesale and excess and surplus (E&S) space,” explains Brett Brownell, head of wholesale property for Navigators, a brand of The Hartford. “The good news is there’s plenty of capacity in the wholesale market to make up for the admitted shortfall in these non-traditional regions.”
For brokers in this space, those who provide well-supported risk narratives and can help clients understand and manage risk will be better positioned to navigate underwriting scrutiny and secure stronger outcomes.
Volatility Beyond Traditional Catastrophes
Historically, property risk has been defined by large-scale, well-modeled catastrophic exposures like Gulf Coast hurricanes or California earthquakes.
Today, wholesale property losses are often driven by frequent, localized and non-traditional events such as:
- Winter freezes appearing in unprepared regions like Texas
- Convective storms changing in frequency and severity
- Unexpected, inland flooding causing water damage in non-prone areas
- Wildfire activity spreading to new geographies
Weather events are becoming more erratic, and carriers are managing volatility more actively across their balance sheets. From a coverage standpoint, that creates challenges. In 2025, global catastrophes caused about $224 billion in economic losses and roughly $108 billion in insured losses.1 These events have regional impacts on loss experience and underwriting strategy, which now need to account for atypical exposures like water damage deductibles in states where frozen pipes are a risk.
“Insurers have to be thoughtful about how much limit they deploy and under what terms, particularly in regions where historical loss data may be less predictive of future risk,” says Brownell. “This becomes increasingly difficult in a competitive market like we see today.”
Operational Discipline Matters
As wholesale property risk becomes more complex, underwriting decisions are increasingly influenced by operational factors like:
- Maintenance and risk management practices: For example, wildfire risks require detailed planning around evacuation, water access and proximity to emergency services.
- Business continuity and backup systems: For example, data centers demand careful review of power redundancy and infrastructure reliability.
- Property-specific exposure mitigation strategies: For example, using water sensors can prevent or detect leaks to limit a loss.
One of the most tangible ways insureds can demonstrate risk quality beyond historical loss experience is strong resilience planning. Documented procedures, redundancy and recovery planning can improve an insurer’s willingness to deploy capacity and may influence terms, deductibles and sublimits. This is especially important in non-traditional catastrophe zones and classes of business.
Speed to Market as a Differentiator
If there is one theme that defines the current environment in wholesale, it’s the ability to move quickly during the submission process. Brokers need to review as many opportunities as possible to deliver value to clients. Insurers must respond with urgency while ensuring decisions are informed and accurate.
“People are expecting the same quick response that they get in their daily lives,” Brownell explains. “Technology and innovation are crucial to responding within 24 to 72 hours, and carriers that lag in AI and other investments risk falling behind.”
Providing early indications significantly improves a broker’s ability to plan and position risk, whether the policy needs to be placed right away or is months from renewal.
Advances in data ingestion, automation and artificial intelligence may enable underwriters to review submissions and generate indications more quickly.
“While we need to use the technology in front of us to make these decisions quicker, we also need to be confident in those decisions,” says Brownell. “That depends heavily on the quality of the submission.”
Rising Expectations for Submission Quality
Insurers are reliant on the information gathered and shared by brokers. Beyond market access, brokers must now actively enable speed, clarity and confidence throughout the placement process. Consider these three important directives when presenting a policy:
Deliver Complete Data
Providing structured, comprehensive data allows underwriters to respond more quickly and with greater confidence. Strong submissions increasingly include:
- Accurate property values
- Clear and credible business interruption data
- Transparent exposure information
- A proper Statement of Values with correct data, loss runs and claims history
- Risk engineering solutions
- Structure and pricing targets
Frame a Clear Risk Narrative
Beyond raw data, underwriters need context. Underwriters want to understand not just what the risk is, but how it is managed and any strategies that are used to mitigate past losses.
“We often get loss runs with a $500,000 fire loss summary, but then they don't provide any follow-up for how they've adjusted to prevent that from happening in the future,” explains Brownell.
Prepare Clients for Shared Risk and Market Realities
Market conditions are changing and deal structures are evolving with them. Equally important is managing expectations on both sides, ensuring that carriers understand target pricing and structures and that insureds are not surprised by outcomes.
Brokers play a key role in preparing insureds for upcoming trends like:
- Higher deductibles
- Co-insurance or layered programs
- Pricing variability from year to year
Understanding the Wholesale Advantage
Brokers in the wholesale model operate within a multi-layered distribution chain — working between retail brokers, insureds and E&S carriers. Those who can support all the players in the wholesale market will earn their trust and be better positioned to succeed.
Learn more about property coverage from Navigators, a brand of The Hartford.
1 Property Casualty 360, “5 Key Takeaways From 2025's Insured Losses,” viewed May 2026.
