For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – June 24, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks and featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: HCI Group HCI, The Progressive Corp. PGR, The Allstate Corp. ALL and Palomar Holdings PLMR
Here are highlights from Wednesday Analyst Blog:
4 P&C Insurance Stocks Poised to Weather 2026 Hurricane Season
Colorado State University (CSU) expects the 2026 hurricane season to be milder than normal, forecasting 11 named storms, including five hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season generally runs from June through November, with peak activity in August and September, making the third quarter particularly important for property and casualty insurers.
Despite catastrophe-related risks, insurers such as HCI Group, The Progressive Corp., The Allstate Corp. and Palomar Holdings are expected to remain resilient, supported by stronger pricing, disciplined underwriting, favorable reserve development, increased exposure and healthy capital positions.
According to Aon, natural disasters caused global economic losses of $260 billion last year, while insured losses exceeded $127 billion. Yet the industry generated an estimated net underwriting gain of $63 billion in 2025, significantly higher than $23 billion in 2024, per Verisk. The combined ratio improved to 92.9% from 96.6%, benefiting from relatively lower catastrophe losses. However, Swiss Re projects the combined ratio to deteriorate by 50 basis points to 99% in 2026 as catastrophe pressures normalize. Insurance Information Institute and Milliman expect personal lines insurers to face higher catastrophe-related losses, which could weigh on underwriting profitability.
Although incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses declined, industry net income fell 12.4% year over year to $148 billion in 2025, while policyholders’ surplus increased 9.1% to $1.2 trillion, reflecting strong capitalization per Verisk report.
In the first quarter of 2026, Aon estimated catastrophe-related economic losses at $37 billion, with insured losses of roughly $20 billion from storms and floods. Nonetheless, better pricing and frequent natural disasters are supporting policy renewals and improving insurers’ ability to absorb catastrophe losses.
At the same time, Marsh’s Global Insurance Market Index reported a 5% decline in global commercial insurance rates in first-quarter 2026, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of pricing moderation due to stronger competition, favorable claims trends and improved reinsurance conditions.
Still, prudent pricing remains essential, as accurately priced portfolios improve loss ratios and support efficient capital deployment. Fitch Ratings noted continued strength in personal auto insurance driven by stronger investment income and lower claims frequency. S&P Global expects underwriting profitability to stabilize as insurers balance growth and pricing discipline. Swiss Re forecasts 4% premium growth in 2026, while Deloitte projects global insurance premiums to reach $722 billion by 2030.
Meanwhile, technology adoption across the industry continues to accelerate. Insurers are investing heavily in digital platforms, advanced analytics and generative AI to improve underwriting precision, claims efficiency, scalability and overall operating performance.
Stocks in Focus
Catastrophe events are driving higher policy renewal rates and stronger pricing power for Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry players. At the same time, advanced analytics, AI, and connected data are improving risk selection, reducing fraud, enhancing claims efficiency, and lowering costs, supporting stronger underwriting margins and profitability. With the help of the Zacks Stock Screener, we have selected four stocks that carry a favorable Zacks Rank and have witnessed upward estimate revisions.
HCI Group, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) Florida-focused insurance business, has been growing its homeowners business, acquiring profitable books of business, proactively managing risk and loss costs and deploying excess capital into investments and growth initiatives. The company also benefits from favorable industry dynamics as larger national insurers continue reducing exposure in high-risk coastal markets, creating opportunities for premium growth and market share expansion. Additionally, HCI’s real estate and technology subsidiaries provide diversification beyond traditional insurance operations.
Though estimates for its 2026 bottom line indicate a 20.5% year-over-year decline, they have moved 1.4% north over the past 30 days, reflecting analysts' optimism. It has a VGM Score of B.
Progressive is one of the country’s largest auto insurance groups, the largest seller of motorcycle and boat policies, the market leader in commercial auto insurance and one of the top 15 homeowners carriers based on premiums written. A solid market presence, a convincing portfolio of products and services, and underwriting and operational expertise should help this insurer deliver steady profitability.
Progressive’s leadership in Personal Auto remains a major driver of long-term growth. Its growth strategy is its push toward bundled offerings, particularly auto and home bundles, which deepen customer engagement and improve retention economics. Also, technology remains at the core of Progressive’s competitive edge. It has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Estimates for PGR’s 2026 bottom line have risen 2.7% over the past 30 days but suggest a 7.8% decrease from the year-ago reported number. Its expected long-term earnings growth is pegged at 1.9%. It has a VGM Score of B.
Allstate is the third-largest property and casualty insurer and the largest publicly traded personal lines insurer in the United States. The company is currently executing a strategic transformation to become a more cost-efficient and digitally enabled insurer with broad distribution capabilities. Its auto insurance business recently regained targeted profitability, while the homeowners segment continues to deliver stable and attractive returns.
The company has been restructuring its portfolio to prioritize its personal property-liability operations. Allstate is also expanding its Protection Services segment to create additional growth opportunities beyond traditional insurance. ALL carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Though estimates for its 2026 bottom line indicate a 15.2% year-over-year decline, the same have moved 1.5% north over the past 30 days, reflecting analysts' optimism. It has a VGM Score of B.
Palomar Holdings is a rapidly growing and profitable insurance holding company focused on the provision of catastrophe insurance for personal and commercial property. Premium growth across lines, expanding fee income, rising investment yield and disciplined reinsurance will sustain earnings momentum.
Palomar’s fee-based platform, PLMR-FRONT, is positioned to drive medium-term growth. The addition of this revenue stream is expected to strengthen its earnings foundation. PLMR identifies Surety as an attractive long-term growth opportunity. Like crop insurance, Surety is not correlated with the traditional property and casualty insurance cycle, offering diversification and stability. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Estimates for Palomar’s 2026 bottom line have moved 1.1% north over the past 30 days, implying a 25.3% increase from the year-ago reported number. It has a Growth Score of A.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."
Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.7% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention.
See them now >>The Allstate Corporation (ALL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Progressive Corporation (PGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
HCI Group, Inc. (HCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Palomar Holdings, Inc. (PLMR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
