5 P&C Insurance Stocks to Watch Amid Increased Digitalization

The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance (P&C) industry is likely to benefit from better pricing, prudent underwriting and exposure growth. Industry players like Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), The Progressive Corporation PGR, Chubb Limited CB, The Travelers Companies TRV and The Allstate Corporation ALL are poised to grow despite a rise in catastrophic events. Given an active catastrophe environment, the policy renewal rate should accelerate. Also, the increasing adoption of technology and the emergence of insurtech will help the industry players function smoothly.

However, insurers are witnessing a decline in pricing after several years of rate rise. Also, the last year witnessed three interest rate cuts, and there is a possibility of more this year. Though insurers are direct beneficiaries of an improved rate environment and rate cuts are headwinds, investment income is expected to remain strong, given insurers’ diverse investment portfolio as well as continued growth of private market investments. The imposition of tariffs by President Trump, as well as higher inflation, will have an impact on pricing. Nonetheless, an improvement in surplus and accelerated economic activities set the stage for a better M&A environment. Per Fitch Ratings, personal auto is expected to stay strong, and coupled with better investment results and lower claims, should fuel insurers' performance in 2025.  

About the Industry

The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry comprises companies that provide commercial and personal property insurance, and casualty insurance products and services. Such insurance helps to safeguard property in case of any natural or man-made disasters. Liability coverages are also provided by some industry players. The insurance coverage offered also includes automobiles, professional risk, marine, excess casualty, aviation, personal accident, commercial multi-peril, and professional indemnity and surety. Premiums are the primary source of revenues for these insurers. Better pricing and increased exposure drive premiums. These companies invest a portion of premiums to meet their commitments to policyholders. However, three rate cuts last year and a few more expected this year raise concerns.

4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry

Proper pricing to help navigate claims: Catastrophes remain a major concern for insurers due to the high losses incurred, leading to rate increases to ensure claims payouts. Per Global Insurance Market Index by Marsh, global commercial insurance rates fell 4% in the second quarter.  Fitch Ratings expects strong performance in personal auto insurance, driven by improved investment returns and reduced claims. S&P Global projects that underwriting profits in this segment will stabilize as insurers aim to grow policy volumes while keeping rates steady or slightly reduced. Deloitte estimates gross premiums to grow sixfold to $722 billion by 2030, with China and North America accounting for over two-thirds of the total. Swiss Re predicts premium growth of 5% in 2025 and 4% in 2026.

Catastrophe loss induces volatility in underwriting profits: The property and casualty insurance industry is susceptible to catastrophe events, which drag down underwriting profits.  Per a Colorado State University (CSU) report, 2025 will have an above-normal hurricane season. The latest report published by CSU states that the 2025 hurricane season may have 23 named storms, including eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes.  The first half of 2025 already incurred global insured losses from natural disasters of least $100 billion per a Risk and Insurance report. Swiss Re estimates the combined ratio to improve from 2023 to 98.5% in 2025 and deteriorate by another 50 basis points to 99% in 2026. Underwriting profitability is expected to be under pressure, primarily due to soft performance in personal lines, which are expected to witness higher catastrophe losses per Insurance Information Institute and Milliman. Exposure growth, better pricing, prudent underwriting and favorable reserve development will help withstand the blow. Also, frequent occurrences of natural disasters should accelerate the policy renewal rate. 

Merger and acquisitions: Consolidation in the property and casualty industry is likely to continue as players look to diversify their operations into new business lines and geography. Buying businesses along the same lines will also continue as players look to gain market share and grow in their niche areas. With a sturdy capital level, the industry is witnessing a number of mergers, acquisitions and consolidations.

Increased adoption of technology: The industry is witnessing increased use of technology like blockchain, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, telematics, cloud computing and robotic process automation that expedite business operations and save costs. The industry has also witnessed the emergence of insurtechs or technology-led insurers. The focus of insurtech is mainly on the property and casualty insurance industry. Insurers continue to invest heavily in technology, generative AI in particular, as it is expected to improve basis points, scale and efficiencies. However, the use of technology poses cyber threats.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bright prospects in the near term. The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry, which is housed within the broader Zacks Finance sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #92, which places it in the top 38% of more than 250 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregates. Earnings estimates for 2025 have increased 2.9% year over year.

Before we present a few property and casualty stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture. 

Industry Underperforms Sector and the S&P 500

The Property and Casualty Insurance industry has underperformed its sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite year to date. The stocks in this industry have collectively risen 4.7% compared with the sector’s increase of 9.8% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s increase of 6.9% in the said time frame.

Year-to-Date Price Performance

 

Current Valuation

On the basis of the trailing 12-month price-to-book (P/B), which is commonly used for valuing insurance stocks, the industry is currently trading at 1.53X compared with the S&P 500’s 8.5X and the sector’s 4.27X.

Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 1.71X, as low as 1.16X and at the median of 1.4X.

Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio (TTM)

Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio (TTM)

5 Property and Casualty Insurance Stocks to Focus On

Here, we are discussing one Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock and four Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks from the P&C Insurance industry. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Progressive Corporation: Based in Mayfield Village, OH, Progressive is one of the major auto insurers in the country.  It is the largest seller of motorcycle and boat policies, the market leader in commercial auto insurance and one of the top 15 homeowners carriers based on premiums written. A solid market presence, a convincing portfolio of products and services, and underwriting and operational expertise should help this insurer deliver steady profitability.  It carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PGR’s 2025 earnings suggests 23.4% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 3% and 1.3% north, respectively, in the past seven days. It delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.23%. It has a VGM Score of A. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 9.5%, better than the industry average of 6.7%.

Price and Consensus: PGR

Berkshire Hathaway: Omaha, NE-based Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 90 subsidiaries in insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing services, retail and homebuilding. BRK.B is one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies measured by premium volume. BRK.B, carrying a Zacks Rank #3, should continue to benefit from its growing Insurance business as well as Manufacturing, Service and Retailing, and Finance and Financial Products segments. Continued insurance business growth fuels an increase in float, drives earnings and generates maximum return on equity. With Warren Buffett at its helm, Berkshire continues to create tremendous value for shareholders.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 bottom line suggests a year-over-year increase of 5%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is 7%. It delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 13.4%. 

Price and Consensus: BRK.B

Price and Consensus: CB

Travelers Companies: Based in New York, NY, Travelers Companies is one of the leading writers of auto and homeowners’ insurance, plus commercial U.S. property-casualty insurance. High levels of retention, improved pricing, increased new business and a positive renewal premium change, banking on the strength of a compelling product portfolio of coverages across nine lines of business, position it well for growth. Travelers’ commercial businesses should continue to perform well on the back of stability in the markets where it operates, as well as the execution of its strategies. It carries a Zacks Rank #3.
 
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TRV’s 2026 earnings suggests 20.5% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for 2025 and 2026 has moved up 10.2% and 1.7%, respectively, in the past seven days. It delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 89.97%. It has a VGM Score of B. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 4.5%.

Price and Consensus: TRV

Price and Consensus: ALL

 

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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Chubb Limited (CB): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Allstate Corporation (ALL): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research