Global marine cargo insurance premiums rose 6.9% to $24.2bn in 2025, but the increase masked softer market conditions, according to IUMI research reported by Hellenic Shipping News. Additional underwriting capacity and stronger competition weighed on the market, with that trend extending into 2026 despite a relatively favourable claims environment.
Addressing IUMI’s annual conference in Rotterdam, Cargo Committee chair Mike Brews said much of the premium increase reflected the weaker US dollar against European currencies rather than underlying expansion. Asia supplied most of the real growth, particularly China. Brews characterised the market as softening rather than undergoing a correction, with competition exerting more influence than major claims.
Europe retained the largest share of global cargo premiums, although its lead over Asia narrowed to 3.3 percentage points in 2025 from 7.8 percentage points a year earlier. European headline growth benefited substantially from the euro strengthening by roughly 13% against the dollar. In China, expansion was supported by insurance products linked to domestic e-commerce and returns, alongside high-value exports including electric vehicles, photovoltaics and lithium batteries. Singapore’s premiums grew 13%, partly supported by high-tech and semiconductor shipments.
Claims performance varied across regions. European loss ratios fell to approximately 40%, while Latin America’s gradual improvement since 2017 brought its ratio to around 45%. Asia’s ratio was just below 70%, maintaining an upward trend dating from 2020. The US ratio dropped to about 40% from approximately 75% in 2024, although IUMI cautioned that under-reporting could explain part of the improvement.
Those figures require care: loss ratios are mainly reported on a paid-only basis, generally leaving out case reserves and incurred-but-not-reported losses that could significantly reduce future profitability. Nevertheless, the cargo sector recorded no major losses in 2025 large enough to materially affect the broader market.
Tariffs had also affected cargo insurance less than anticipated, Brews said. Insured values remained resilient, while volumes slowed without falling as sharply as feared. Looking ahead, he pointed to excess capacity pressuring rates, particularly in Europe, and warned that premium growth linked largely to trade volumes and exchange-rate movements did not necessarily indicate a healthier market.