The specialty insurance market landscape

Specialty insurance refers to a type of insurance that provides coverage for risks typically not covered under standard insurance policies. Unlike standard insurance policies, which are designed to provide insurance coverage for risks such as personal automobile and personal or commercial property, specialty insurance policies are tailored to address niche or unusual risks that require very specialized knowledge. The key benefit is the flexibility available to allow customers or businesses to obtain insurance coverage on both admitted and non-admitted bases, which may otherwise be unavailable or unaffordable in the standard commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurance markets.

Over the past few years there has been unprecedented growth in the specialty insurance market with industry analysts forecasting continued material growth over the next several years. The global specialty insurance market was valued at $104.7 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $279 billion by 2031—a CAGR of 10.6% during this 10-year period.

Carriers can sustain growth by quickly rolling out cost-effective products, streamlining operations, establishing feedback loops, and adapting to specialty insurance market dynamics with flexible technology. In this report, we explore the driving factors of specialty insurance growth and the digital capabilities carriers need to meet market demands, according to three common transformation scenarios.