AIG Steps Back from NPW Growth Target on Pressure in Some Lines

In one form or another during periods of some kind of marketplace softening, public insurance companies will insist underwriting discipline is being maintained. The insurer, they will say, won’t chase rate.

For AIG, that means stepping back from guidance it gave earlier this year to deliver net-premium growth in the low- to mid-teen percentage range.

“We will not chase growth for growth’s sake,” said Eric Andersen, AIG’s CEO, during a call with analysts to discuss earnings. “Our focus is on maintaining our underwriting standards to ensure we are appropriately managing our risk, margins and returns. With that in mind, it’s important to recognize that certain pockets of the market continue to be under pressure. Therefore, we’re making the choice to step back from the low to mid-teens net premiums written growth expectation we shared in February.

“We continue to expect an excellent year of growth for the full year of 2026, and we will use the strength and diversity of our global portfolio to drive our performance.”

Related: AIG’s General Insurance Q3 Underwriting Income Down 29%

AIG has grown net premiums written 11% during the first 9 months of the year but Andersen explained – as other insurance executives have over at least the last several quarters – that marketplace conditions vary depending on line of business as well as geography.

Like last quarter, in the North America Commercial segment, AIG has chosen to shrink its American property book at its surplus lines insurer, Lexington as “new entrants and excess capacity have intensified competition,” Andersen said, adding that the headwinds are also increasingly in casualty.

“We have been very proactive in our response since those trends began, directing growth in Lexington toward the middle market and small and medium enterprise segments while reducing our participation in property and casualty large accounts, which are facing the greatest pressure,” Andersen said.

Losses are trending upward in reps and warranties and in energy. Andersen reported working with brokers and clients on “appropriate solutions to align pricing, coverage and risk” for reps and warranties, which is important for M&A. On energy, the CEO said AIG remains committed when the price is right but the market “is volatile with elevated loss activity and inflation continuing to drive loss costs higher, yet new capacity is pushing overall market rates lower.”

One area of opportunity is in infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence. Andersen said AIG is heavily involved insuring the construction of data centers, making it one of the “fastest-growing lines within the Global Specialty business.”

“AIG broadly offers one of the market’s most comprehensive and integrated multiline propositions for data centers, including marine cargo, cyber, property and casualty insurance,” Anderson said. “[Subsidiary] Talbot adds specialist capability in areas such as political violence and terrorism.”

Topics AIG