A client sees a headline about their insurer growing its premiums and arrives at the next renewal ready for a fight, convinced the money is rolling in and the increase is pure greed. IAG’s FY26 results tell a more complicated story than that. Premiums did grow, up 7.6% to $18.412 billion, yet net profit after tax fell to $1.022 billion from $1.359 billion the year before, a drop of nearly 25%, with elevated natural peril activity doing most of the damage. It is a useful reminder that premium growth and insurer profit do not always move in the same direction.
Natural peril costs shape an insurer’s pricing, appetite, underwriting discipline and reinsurance buying. What they do not do is convert into a fixed renewal increase for any individual client. There is no universal equation that turns a headline result into your client’s number. That outcome depends on location, industry, loss history, asset quality, declared values, risk controls, policy structure and insurer appetite.
So use the result as an opening, not a warning. It is the perfect prompt to explain why accurate risk information matters far more than assumptions about “the market.” Four conversations do the heavy lifting here.
Sums insured come first. Are building, contents, plant and stock values current, or last decade’s? Natural peril exposure comes next. Has the client actually assessed flood, storm, bushfire or hail exposure and the mitigation in place? Then business continuity. Could the business keep operating after a major event, and does the BI cover reflect its real recovery period rather than a guess? Finally, submission quality. Does the underwriting presentation clearly show risk improvements, maintenance, continuity planning and claims lessons?
Those four give a client something worth far more than a price comparison. They produce a better placement strategy. Complex property and catastrophe-exposed clients need more sophisticated market engagement, and brokers who can explain insurer behaviour, target the right markets and gather the right information early are the ones who keep those accounts. That confidence matters most for ARs building specialist books or growing in climate-exposed segments.
For more on reading the current market, see what the 2026 climate report’s $2.9 billion in cat losses means for property clients, using the pricing window to de-risk rather than just discount, and why sliding commercial rates call for a smarter play. The underinsurance gap is the risk hiding behind stale sums insured.
Better Broker combines strategic business guidance with practical placement support. Members draw on underwriting insight to improve submissions, identify the right markets and walk into renewal conversations with more confidence. If those conversations feel harder this year, reach out.