Best’s Market Segment Report: Inland Marine Profitability Remains a Hallmark as the Risk Landscape Evolves

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The inland marine line of insurance coverage continues to outperform the broader U.S. property/casualty (P/C) sector on underwriting, while any premium growth remains limited and largely driven by inflationary factors and ancillary coverages, according to the new AM Best report.

The new Best’s Market Segment Report, titled, “Inland Marine Profitability Remains a Hallmark as the Risk Landscape Evolves,” states that the risks associated with this line of coverage for goods transported across land and inventory stored at temporary off-site locations fuel a need for specialized expertise, which underlies that segment’s consistent profitability.

Inland marine underwriters have consistently reported lower calendar year loss and loss adjustment expense (LAE) ratios than the broader P/C industry has across all lines underwritten. According to the report, the segment’s loss ratio gap has expanded to greater than 20 percentage points annually over the past four years. “As good as inland marine’s underwriting performance has been historically, it was even better in 2025, when the line’s loss and LAE ratio reached an eleven-year low,” said Christopher Graham, senior industry analyst, AM Best.

Inland marine insurance also covers on-site materials for construction projects and special high-value items, including but not limited to fine arts, computers, television, video and sound equipment, and medical diagnostic equipment. Historically, there has been an 80/20 split between commercial inland marine exposures such as freight or property on the move, and personal inland marine exposures that include high-value niche items like fine arts, jewelry, and collectibles. Up until 2024, the coverage line had included pet insurance.

Inland marine insurance also covers materials on site for construction projects. For that reason, construction spending can provide a good proxy for the number of exposures or property being insured. U.S. construction spending overall has fallen slightly since its peak in 2024. Less construction spending could mean less demand for inland marine insurance, causing increased competition, thus pricing cuts, for the projects that do get moving.

The report also notes the increasingly competitive inland marine landscape over the past decade, with the top insurers having less market share now than five years ago. The small increase in concentration among the different groupings within the segment’s top 10 ranking in 2024 was more about pet insurance plans becoming their own line rather than any actual market share increase among the top carriers.

To access the full copy of this special report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=367549.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.