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😐 Vibe Check: California's getting scrappy with regulation, rates are finally giving buyers a break, and private equity is turning insurance into their personal Monopoly board. Oh, and everyone's still big mad about health insurance.

☕ Grab your coffee, hide from your inbox for five minutes, and let’s jam on what actually moved the insurance world this week.

STORY OF THE WEEK

The Market Is Easing But Don’t Spike the Football Yet

You’ve probably felt it already: fewer jaw-dropping renewals.

According to WTW/CLIPS data, U.S. commercial insurance pricing growth slowed to ~3.8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, holding steady from Q2.

Translation: the rapid-fire hard market sprint is officially over.

But before you tells clients “the market’s soft again,” let’s slow down.

What’s actually happening:

• Pricing pressure is easing, not reversing

• Capacity is selectively returning (especially in E&S-adjacent spaces)

• Underwriting remains disciplined — especially on property, habitational, and distressed risks

At the same time, Fitch Ratings affirmed a neutral outlook for U.S. P&C insurers into 2026, citing stable fundamentals. Carriers aren’t desperate — they’re cautious.

What this means for you in the real world:

• Good risks get attention again

• Bad risks still get hammered

• Storytelling, data, and submission quality matter more than ever

This is the kind of market where great producers separate from average ones — not because rates are high, but because judgment matters again.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

• 🔥California Finally Does Something About the Insurance Dumpster Fire After watching insurers bail on the Golden State, Commissioner Lara enforced catastrophe modeling regulations requiring insurers to increase policy offerings in underserved areas. Insurers must now write policies equal to 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire-distressed areas. It's the biggest shake-up in 30 years, which tells you how long they've been kicking this can.

• 🎲 Brokers Are Playing Monopoly with Real Money M&A activity dropped 10% to 750 deals, but the big boys dropped $34 billion on three mega-acquisitions: Aon grabbed NFP for $13B, MMC scooped up McGriff for $7.75B, and Gallagher's buying AssuredPartners for $13.45B. Add WTW's $1.3B Newfront play, and you're at $35.3 billion in consolidation.

• ⚖️ ACA Subsidies Are Political Football Again Congress is debating whether to extend enhanced ACA subsidies. If they don't, employer benefit costs could spike as people flood back to group plans. If you sell benefits, get ready for nervous HR directors blowing up your phone.

• 👮 OSHA’s Going HAM The DOL is cranking up enforcement—higher fines, more inspections, zero chill. This is showing up in workers' comp and liability conversations. Risk control just went from "nice-to-have" to "we-need-this-or-we're-screwed."

• 💸 Big Shops Keep Printing Money Public brokers dropped Q4 earnings crushing it with organic growth between 5-14%, with Brown & Brown flexing at 13.8%. Even with rates softening, these guys can't stop winning.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

3.8%

That’s the year-over-year commercial pricing increase in Q3 2025.

Not soft. Not hard. Just selective.

USEFUL LINKS

📈 Insurance Xdate: free trial here

📬 Max Revenue Letter: sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📒 Producer Playbook: learn more here ⁠⁠⁠⁠

📺 Max Revenue on YouTube: watch here

🎧 Max Revenue Podcast: listen here

INSURANCE THOUGHT

Everybody thinks insurance is a scam, until they actually need it.

Funny how that works.

OPINION

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That’s this week in insurance.

Forward it to an insurance buddy who’s already told a client “things are getting easier.”

See you next week.