Premium affordability and insurability are emerging as primary concerns for Australian insurers in 2026 as rising claims costs, climate-related losses, and technology-enabled fraud influence pricing, underwriting, and capital allocation, according to Gallagher Bassett’s 2026 global claims study.
As reported by online publication Insurance Business Magazine, Gallagher Bassett has released The Carrier Perspective: 2026 Claims Insights, the fourth edition of its annual white paper, based on survey responses from 250 insurance leaders and decision makers across Australia, North America, and the UK. Respondents include C-suite executives, vice presidents, senior directors, and business unit leaders from traditional carriers, managing general agents (MGAs), and underwriting agencies.
Gallagher Bassett’s chief client officer, Pete Diskin (pictured), told Insurance Business Magazine that the findings point to a continuation of existing pressures alongside newer concerns. “Some business risks highlighted in the 2025 report persist, while newly identified challenges have quickly grown into key strategic concerns in the past year,” Diskin said.
For Australian respondents, premium affordability and insurability rank as the leading business challenge. Twenty-two percent of local participants identified it as their top issue, reflecting the combined impact of claims inflation, macroeconomic conditions, regulatory and compliance costs, and catastrophe exposures on capacity and pricing. Gallagher Bassett’s analysis indicates that affordability pressures are most evident in general liability, property, and auto liability.
More than a third of Australian insurers point to general liability as the line where they have seen the largest change in claims frequency and severity, with property and auto also reporting notable shifts. Climate-related events, inflation in materials and labour, and more complex liability claims are influencing rate adequacy and coverage availability for certain industries and risk profiles.
According to Insurance Business Magazine, across the market, 70 per cent of Australian insurers reported both higher costs per claim and an increase in claim frequency over the past year, and 50 per cent said they plan to raise premiums.
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