Global marine insurance premiums rose by 5.5% to US$42.6 billion in 2025, according to the IUMI Stats Report 2026 by the International Union of Marine Insurance.
However, US dollar weakness masked any underlying market development while increased capacity and competition continued to drive soft market conditions.
Commenting on this year’s report, IUMI Secretary General, Lars Lange said: “The 2025 marine insurance market recorded modest growth in global premiums, although underlying conditions remained soft. Increased capacity, competitive pressures and currency movements, particularly the weakness of the US dollar, all influenced reported premium levels.”
Marine cargo premiums
Marine cargo premiums were reported as USD 24.2 billion, up 6.9 percent year-on-year, supported by seaborne trade and asset and commodity price movements. Chinese premiums continued to grow strongly, driven by high-value exports including AI-related technology. Despite improving loss ratios, the market remained soft.
Ocean hull premiums
These increased 9.4 percent to USD 10.5 billion, encouraged by global fleet growth, higher vessel values and war premiums. Fleet growth continued to outpace premium growth indicating continued competitive pressure although loss ratios appear to have normalised.
Offshore energy premiums
Offshore energy premiums were broadly unchanged at USD 4.82 billion, up just 0.1 percent on 2024. London retained a 62.7 percent market share of which around 30% is renewables. While the market remains soft, energy security and geopolitical concerns could support significant future investment.
As in previous years, the report also provides an update on IUMI’s Major Claims Database which contains data from 2013 onward with 30 national insurance associations now contributing. The number of observations for cargo claims has grown to 7,200 and a cumulative loss of USD 11.4 billion. IUMI’s revised Hull Inflation Index, which helps insurers to explain marine repair cost inflation using a range of macroeconomic indicators, is also showcased.
Lange said: “On the claims side, the overall picture remained relatively stable with no single catastrophic loss significantly affecting any individual sector. However, attritional claims continued to accumulate putting pressure on profitability.
“Concerns that global tariffs would significantly constrain international trade proved less pronounced than anticipated while global GDP growth was stronger than expected. At the same time, the global race for AI began to influence marine trade with high-value semiconductors becoming an increasingly important component of international cargo movements.
“Asia continued to lead market growth with premium income rising steadily since 2016 and China remaining the region’s dominant market. European markets also expanded, although at a slower pace.
“Looking ahead, geopolitical tensions continued to shape the market into 2026. War cover became increasingly prominent while vessel availability, particularly for energy carriers, tightened as conflict in the Middle East intensified. Strong oil and gas demand continued to support activity while the impact of global tariffs remained less significant than initially feared.
“At IUMI, our job is to keep abreast of these many issues and engage with the relevant agencies to ensure marine underwriters are aware and equipped to continue to provide the insurance and risk mitigation services that ensure global trade continues without interruption.
“Our annual Stats Report is compiled by our Facts & Figures Committee together with input from a number of valued data partners. My thanks go to them all.”
Download the full report: IUMI Stats Report 2026