{"id":24269,"date":"2025-10-17T14:09:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=844140"},"modified":"2025-10-17T14:09:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:09:53","slug":"an-unsustainable-trend-declining-p-c-rates-and-rising-cost-of-risk-marshs-doyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/10\/17\/an-unsustainable-trend-declining-p-c-rates-and-rising-cost-of-risk-marshs-doyle\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unsustainable Trend \u2013 Declining P\/C Rates and Rising Cost of Risk: Marsh\u2019s Doyle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/businessman-must-choose-road-ahead-339321493-bigstock-580x387.jpg\"><\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/businessman-must-choose-road-ahead-339321493-bigstock-scaled.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2025\/10\/17\/844140.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2025\/10\/17\/844140.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>Property\/casualty prices are declining, while the cost of risk continues to rise \u2013 a trend that is unsustainable over time, according to John Doyle, president and chief executive officer of Marsh McLennan (MMC).<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, without significant changes in large loss activity as well as with the broader macro-economic environment, \u201cwe anticipate insurance and reinsurance market conditions seen so far this year will likely continue in 2026,\u201d Doyle said during an analysts\u2019 call to discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2025\/10\/16\/844036.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MMC\u2019s third quarter earnings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"pricing-trends,property-casualty,trends\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe continue to see a competitive market characterized by slower growth from an uneven economy, stronger carrier ROEs and continued decreases in overall rates, particularly in property reinsurance and property [catastrophe] reinsurance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Doyle noted that global property rates decreased by 8% during the third quarter, compared with a 7% decline in Q2 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-inline-sidebar article-inline-sidebar-left\"> <span><em>Global commercial insurance rates during the third quarter decreased 4% \u2013 driven by property \u2013 which follows a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2025\/07\/24\/833040.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">4% decline in Q2 2025<\/a>, said John Doyle, president and CEO of Marsh McLennan, quoting Marsh\u2019s Global Insurance Market Index\u2014which skews toward large account business. <\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span><em>Overall, rates were down in the U.S. by 1%; Canada by 3%; the UK, EMEA, Latin America and Asia were all down mid-single digits, and Pacific decreased by double digits, he said during MMC\u2019s Q3 earnings call with equity analysts.<\/em><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span><em>Bucking the trend toward softening rates was global casualty which increased 3%, while U.S. excess casualty rose 16%, \u201creflecting continued pressure in the liability environment,\u201d Doyle said.<\/em><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span><em>Workers\u2019 compensation decreased by 5%, global financial and professional liability rates were down 5%, while cyber decreased 6%, he added<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Further detailing the \u201cunsustainable\u201d mismatch between softening prices and the rising cost of risk, Doyle pointed to the \u201cbig pressure points\u201d of a global economy that may be slowing, declining interest rates, growing exposure to extreme weather, the rapidly rising cost of liability in some markets \u2013 including in the U.S. \u2013 and increasing health care costs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cost-Saving Program Launched<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is perhaps with an eye on these pressure points that Doyle announced a new program called \u201cThrive,\u201d which will include \u201cautomation efforts and workforce actions\u201d to optimize the company\u2019s scale and specialization.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next three years, he said, Thrive is expected to \u201cgenerate approximately $400 million in savings with a portion being reinvested to drive additional growth. We will incur around $500 million in charges to achieve these savings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, MMC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/national\/2025\/10\/14\/843566.htm\">said it was rebranding<\/a> as \u201cMarsh\u201d while forming a new unit called \u201cBusiness and Client Services (BCS),\u201d which Doyle explained are core parts of the Thrive program. Thrive aims \u201cto deliver greater value to clients, accelerate growth and improve efficiency,\u201d Doyle said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"pricing-trends,property-casualty,trends\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe efficiencies we gain through the program will support investments in talent and technology. As we increasingly deploy AI, we can deliver even greater value for clients and colleagues. Thrive will also help us continue to expand margins,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-inline-sidebar article-inline-sidebar-right\"> <span><em>\u201cA few competitors have engaged in unlawful and unethical hiring practices and encourage talent to violate their covenants as a deliberate strategy to build their businesses.\u201d <\/em><\/span><em><\/em><\/div>\n<p><strong>Competitors\u2019 Hiring Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Doyle went on to discuss talent in the re\/insurance marketplace with a pointed complaint about competitors that poach MMC colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA few competitors have engaged in unlawful and unethical hiring practices and encourage talent to violate their covenants as a deliberate strategy to build their businesses. In these cases, I believe it\u2019s important to call out this behavior and to protect our rates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The company has responded with lawsuits, including one against rival Willis Towers Watson in May for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/east\/2025\/05\/12\/823361.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allegedly stealing clients<\/a> and another last week against <a href=\"https:\/\/dockets.justia.com\/docket\/north-carolina\/ncwdce\/1:2025cv00353\/121355\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Granite Insurance Agency<\/a> for poaching former staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a people business, and we have an unmatched depth of talent with over 90,000 colleagues, and we love to compete because it makes us better,\u201d he said, noting that colleague mobility is good for the industry \u201cand has served us well because we are an employer of choice with a strong colleague value proposition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/trends\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Trends<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/pricing-trends\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Pricing Trends<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/property-casualty\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Property Casualty<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"844140\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-yes\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! <span class=\"percent\"><\/span>% of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-more-articles\">\n<p class=\"thank-you-text\">Here are more articles you may enjoy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscribe-banner subscribe-banner-in-content-2\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h4>Interested in <em>Pricing Trends<\/em>?<\/h4>\n<p>Get automatic alerts for this topic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article 0 Comments Property\/casualty prices are declining, while the cost of risk continues to rise \u2013 a trend that is unsustainable over time, according to John Doyle, president and chief executive officer of Marsh&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1295,338,24,223,224,2,1],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/an-unsustainable-trend-declining-p-c-rates-and-rising-cost-of-risk-marshs-doyle.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}