May 2026 Premium Reaches $1.67B as
Policy Volume Continues to Climb

May brought another month of moderation in Florida’s surplus lines market, as premium and average cost per policy declined while policy count continued to climb. For the month, $1.67 billion in premium was reported across 177,627 policies, with an average cost per policy of $9,427. Compared to May 2025, premium was down 11% and average cost per policy declined 24%, while policy count increased 17%.

Taken together, the May results show continued policy growth alongside lower reported premium and average cost per policy, reinforcing the broader shift toward a more measured market in 2026.

Florida’s surplus lines market saw significant premium growth over the last several years, and 2025 may ultimately represent the top of the bell curve for premium volume. We still have the rest of 2026 ahead of us, but current data points to some moderation in reported premium. At the same time, policy volume is up and renewals represent a slightly larger share of activity, which tells us business is not leaving the surplus lines market. Instead, the market appears to be active, but more measured.

-Mark Shealy, Executive Director, FSLSO

NEW BUSINESS AND RENEWALS | May 2026 vs May 2025

Policy type showed a modest shift toward renewals in May, with renewals increasing from 58% to 60% of reported policy count year over year. While new business declined slightly as a share of the mix, both categories increased in actual volume as total policy count rose 17% for the month. The shift suggests that growth is being supported not only by new placements, but also by a larger base of policies renewing in the surplus lines market.

Top 10 Lines of Business

Commercial Property remained Florida’s largest insurance line by premium volume in May, even as reported premium declined 25% year over year, from $920.52 million to $692.67 million. Policy count moved in the opposite direction, increasing 26% from 28,401 to 35,888 policies. That combination drove average cost per policy down 40%, from $32,412 to $19,301, continuing the broader trend of higher policy activity at lower average reported cost.

Commercial General Liability reported an 8% year-over-year decline in premium, while policy count also decreased 8%, leaving average cost per policy virtually unchanged from May 2025. The contrast between CGL and Commercial Property policy volume is notable. Commercial Property first moved ahead of CGL in policy volume during the first quarter of 2025, marking a shift from prior years when CGL typically carried the higher policy count. One year later, that gap continues to widen. In May, Commercial Property reported 35,888 policies compared to 21,287 for CGL, or approximately 1.7 Commercial Property policies for every CGL policy.

Homeowners - HO-3 continued to report an average cost per policy below $4,000 in May, coming in at $3,793. That represents a 44% decrease from May 2025. While reported premium increased 38% year over year, rising from $57.21 million to $78.86 million, policy count more than doubled, increasing 145%. Coming at the start of hurricane season, the data points to continued activity in Florida’s HO-3 market, with a significantly lower average reported cost per policy than one year ago.

Windstorm and/or Hail – Commercial also showed notable movement ahead of Florida’s hurricane season. Reported premium declined 21% year over year, from $44.61 million to $35.08 million, while policy count increased 35%, rising from 1,791 to 2,417 policies. As a result, average cost per policy decreased 42%, from $24,910 to $14,512.

Homeowners - HO-5 returned to the top ten lines of business in May, marking the second time this year the line has reached that position. The line followed a similar pattern to HO-3, with premium increasing while policy count grew at a much faster rate. Reported premium rose 24% year over year, from $18.29 million to $22.65 million, while policy count increased 91%, from 534 to 1,019 policies. That growth in policy activity helped drive average cost per policy down 35%, from $34,243 to $22,229.

Top 10 Insurers

While all the top ten insurers reported increased policy counts, only two reported increased premiums, providing an important note: business is still being written in Florida.

MS TRANSVERSE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY premium decreased 31% ($102.48M to $71.04M) and policy count increased by 33% (6,181 to 8,233). They secured 5% of total count in May 2026.

NATIONAL FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY showed an increase of 51% in policy count (2,725 to 4,127) with a decrease of 21% in premium ($47.59M to $37.59M). They secured 2% of total count in May 2026.

AXIS SURPLUS INSURANCE COMPANY premium decreased 20% ($42.69M to $34.19M) with an increase of 33% for policy count (439 to 585). They secured 0.3% of total count in May 2026.

May 2026 Wrap-Up

May continued the trend seen throughout 2026, with reported premium and average cost per policy declining while policy count increased. Although the monthly year-over-year changes were more pronounced, the year-to-date figures remain more moderate. That broader viewpoints to a market that continues to adjust in a measured way as Florida moves into the second half of the year.

www.fslso.com

Have questions? Contact us at 800.562.4496, option 1 or email agent.services@fslso.com.