Bermuda is heading into 2027 with record property insurance capacity of more than $2.8 billion, according to a new market report from Willis Towers Watson.

The advisory, broking and solutions company said new carriers from the “Class of 2026” are now writing quota-share, primary and excess layers, adding to competition in the market.

WTW’s Insurance Marketplace Realities 2027 report said that while property-rate reductions in Bermuda look to be slowing, insurers are increasingly competing through broader coverage, lower attachment points and smaller retentions.

Capacity is the amount of risk insurers are willing to take on. Higher capacity can give insurance buyers more choice when building programmes and can strengthen their hand in negotiations over price and terms.

The report said the property market is being helped by an overall softening in commercial insurance pricing. In North America, rates for large and complex property programmes fell by an average of 14.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, WTW said. Shared and layered programmes recorded average reductions of 23.4 per cent.

The Bermuda market, however, is still uneven across lines of business.

WTW said casualty insurance has split into two distinct markets. High-hazard and loss-affected risks face price increases, while low-hazard business is almost flat.

The report said financial-lines capacity had also held up despite consolidation in the insurance industry. It expects two new entrants in professional services and law firm coverage.

Jackie Bolig, head of placement and broking solutions for North America at Willis, a WTW business, said property and liability buyers were facing different conditions.

“Property buyers have room to negotiate this cycle,” she said. “Casualty and specialty buyers need to plan for a market that is still correcting for verdict severity and emerging technology risk.”

WTW said auto liability, general liability and umbrella and excess liability for high-hazard risks are still under pressure from social inflation and large jury awards, known as nuclear verdicts.

The company said there were early signs that increases in the excess casualty market could be nearing their peak as more capacity enters through broker-led facilities, new managing general agents and underwriters.

WTW was asked to identify the carriers it includes in the Class of 2026, explain how it calculated the $2.8 billion property-capacity figure and comment on the outlook for the Bermuda market.