Marine Insurance Premiums Hit $42.6 Billion, But Soft Market Persists

Global marine insurance premiums climbed 5.5% to $42.6 billion in 2025, but the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) cautions that much of that growth reflects a weaker U.S. dollar rather than a genuine hardening of the market. The figures, published Tuesday in IUMI's annual Stats Report, show expansion across most major lines — alongside competition, excess capacity and currency swings that continue to weigh on insurers' results.

Premium growth drew support from three drivers: expanding global fleets, higher vessel values and rising demand for war risk coverage. Underneath the headline number, however, conditions stayed soft.

What did the individual lines do?

Ocean hull premiums rose 9.4% to $10.5 billion, lifted by fleet expansion, higher ship values and additional war premiums. Even so, fleet growth continued to outpace premium growth, a signal of sustained competitive pressure on hull underwriters.

Marine cargo insurance remained the largest segment, with premiums up 6.9% to $24.2 billion. Seaborne trade and shifts in commodity and asset values supported the line, particularly in China, where exports of high-value technology — including AI-related equipment and semiconductors — drove demand for cargo cover.

Offshore energy premiums were essentially flat, edging up just 0.1% to $4.82 billion. London retained its dominant position in the segment with a 62.7% market share, including a growing renewables component.

How soft is the market, really?

IUMI Secretary General Lars Lange put the picture plainly. "The 2025 marine insurance market recorded modest growth in global premiums, although underlying conditions remained soft," Lange said. "Increased capacity, competitive pressures and currency movements, particularly the weakness of the US dollar, all influenced reported premium levels."

Claims activity in 2025 told a similar story of stability without relief. No single catastrophic event significantly affected an individual insurance sector, yet the accumulation of smaller claims kept squeezing profitability. For shipowners and cargo interests, the soft market has meant continued affordability of cover — but for underwriters, margin pressure has not eased.

What does the claims data show?

IUMI also updated its Major Claims Database, which now holds roughly 7,200 cargo claims representing a cumulative $11.4 billion in losses. Thirty national insurance associations feed the database, which tracks claims back to 2013.

Alongside the stats, IUMI introduced a revised Hull Inflation Index. The tool is designed to help insurers assess rising vessel repair costs using broader economic indicators — a practical response to the repair-cost inflation that has quietly eroded hull line results.

Where is growth concentrated?

Asia continued to lead growth in the marine insurance market, with China remaining the region's largest contributor. European markets also expanded, though at a slower pace.

On the trade side, IUMI found that fears of tariff-driven contraction in international commerce did not fully materialize. The impact of tariffs proved less severe than initially anticipated, while global economic growth exceeded expectations — an outcome that helped sustain both seaborne trade volumes and the insurance demand tied to them.

What comes next for 2026?

Geopolitics is the variable to watch. IUMI warned that geopolitical tensions are playing an increasingly important role in marine insurance markets in 2026, as the conflict in the Middle East disrupts shipping and pushes demand for war risk coverage higher.

War insurance has become increasingly prominent as attacks on commercial shipping continue, while the availability of energy carriers has tightened amid heightened security risks in the region.

Lange drew the through-line to 2026 directly. "Looking ahead, geopolitical tensions continued to shape the market into 2026," he said. "War cover became increasingly prominent while vessel availability, particularly for energy carriers, tightened as conflict in the Middle East intensified."

For shippers and carriers operating near affected lanes, the practical consequence is a rising war-risk cost component layered onto hull and cargo premiums — even as the broader market's excess capacity keeps baseline rates soft. How long that tension holds depends on whether conflict-driven demand for war cover finally tips the supply-demand balance in underwriters' favor during 2026.