Gene Zhang, North America CEO at Peak Re, explores the current factors shaping the U.S. casualty market.

Peak Re’s U.S. casualty business continues to deliver resilient performance in 2026, still benefiting from the Class 3B licence granted by Bermuda Monetary Authority in May 2025.

Recent developments in the U.S. casualty market have reinforced the value of our disciplined underwriting approach and focused market positioning.

Since entering the U.S. casualty market nearly a decade ago, we have maintained a consistent strategy focused on segments where we believe we can add value through underwriting expertise and long-term relationships. We continue to focus on the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in the U.S., such as personal auto, excess and surplus general liability and professional liability, where our disciplined risk selection has helped us deliver stable, predictable results and shielded us from the volatility historically associated with U.S. casualty.

Nonetheless, the current U.S. inflation of close to 3.5% (CPI-U) is seen as a challenge for long-tail risks.

On average, our U.S. casualty risks, excluding personal auto, have a tail of five to seven years, making the ultimate cost of future claims sensitive to changes in economic conditions. Furthermore, the current geoeconomic environment — characterised by military conflicts in the Middle East, high trade tariffs and changes in U.S. policy — is seen as a cause for increased volatility. Social inflation also adds to that. We have observed that some jury awards can materially influence the scale of compensatory or punitive damages, particularly in cases involving bodily injuries.

REMAINING CONSERVATIVE AND DISCIPLINED

In this environment, Peak Re remains committed to its SME-focused strategy in the U.S., where our exposures are generally less volatile and the outcomes of our underwriting have rendered more predictable results relative to broader market segments.

As more capacity enters the market, competition has also intensified in many U.S. casualty segments. While rate momentum has started to moderate, pricing remains broadly aligned with underlying risk fundamentals and continues to support sustainable risk-adjusted returns.

We remain conservative in our underwriting, with a cautious approach to pricing and a disciplined focus on the business we understand well. Personal auto has performed well in recent years and, as a result, competition has increased. Nevertheless, the risk continues to perform in line with our expectations, and we remain selective in this segment and partner with the clients we know well.

In professional liability, we target medical malpractice, predominately physician rather than hospital exposures. We also provide indemnity cover to small law firms. This segment continues to offer a balanced combination of pricing adequacy and portfolio stability. In excess and surplus general liability, we have also seen healthy growth while rates have been moderating but remain at a sustainable level.

CLIENTS FIRST

Over the past few years, we have established a diversified portfolio that provides a strong foundation for future development. Looking ahead to upcoming renewals, our focus remains on cedant underwriting quality, disciplined growth and long-term value creation.

As market conditions evolve, underwriting discipline and client engagement will become increasingly important differentiators. In a softer cycle, identifying attractive opportunities, sound risks and the right clients will require increased effort and more intensive engagement with cedants and brokers.

A client-centric approach remains central to Peak Re’s strategy. We prioritise long-term partnerships, seek to grow alongside our clients and focus on delivering consistency across market cycles. This is equally important to our U.S. casualty book. Through our established relationships with cedants and brokers, we have developed a strong understanding of our clients’ underwriting philosophies and approaches to risk management. This allows us to work with partners that share our commitment to disciplined underwriting and effective cycle management.

As the market cycle evolves, this disciplined and relationship-driven approach will continue to guide our efforts towards sustainable growth in U.S. casualty.

The article was first published on The Insurer on 8 September, 2026. Please refer to the full article here.