Commercial insurance prices fell 1.2 percent in the first quarter, the first quarterly decline since 2017, with property premiums dropping 5.8 percent. Falling prices sort this industry quickly. Carriers that underwrite with discipline keep earning through a soft cycle, while carriers that chased growth during the hard market hand their profits back. Our seven picks, in ticker form: CB, PGR, TRV, ALL, AFL, ACGL, and KNSL.
Each one just posted underwriting results most of the industry cannot match. Several are also sitting on the longest dividend growth streaks in the financial sector. We screened more than 50 US-listed insurers and narrowed the list to seven based on underwriting profitability, returns on equity, and balance sheet strength.
How We Picked These Stocks
More than 50 insurance companies trade on US exchanges, spanning property and casualty carriers, life insurers, health insurers, and brokers. We filtered for a market cap above $5 billion, a combined ratio below the industry average, a double-digit return on equity, and a track record of growing book value or dividends through full pricing cycles. We excluded pure life insurers, whose results swing on interest rates more than underwriting skill, and insurance brokers, which earn commissions rather than taking underwriting risk. The result is seven carriers that make money on the insurance itself, not just on investing the premiums.
The Best Insurance Stocks
Chubb (NYSE: CB)
Why it made the list: Chubb is the largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer in the world, and it just delivered a first quarter combined ratio of 84.0 with net premiums written up 10.7 percent to $14.0 billion. A combined ratio measures claims plus expenses as a share of premiums. Anything under 100 means the insurance operation itself is profitable, and 84 is elite for a carrier this size.
The bull case: Chubb's global commercial franchise gives it pricing power in specialty lines that smaller carriers cannot touch, and its Asian life insurance business grew premiums 33 percent last quarter. Net income rose 74 percent in the first quarter as catastrophe losses eased.
The risk: Chubb writes a lot of large commercial property coverage, the exact segment where prices are falling fastest.
Key number: 33 consecutive years of dividend increases.
Progressive (NYSE: PGR)
Why it made the list: Progressive wrote $83.2 billion in net premiums in 2025, up 12 percent from the prior year, and it keeps taking share in US personal auto. Its telematics data, gathered from devices and apps that track how customers actually drive, lets it price policies more accurately than rivals.
The bull case: Progressive compounds market share gains year after year because its pricing edge lets it grow while staying profitable. When competitors misprice risk, Progressive picks up their best customers.
The risk: Progressive trades at a premium to book value that assumes the growth continues. A price war in auto insurance would compress both growth and the multiple.
Key number: $83.2 billion in net premiums written last year, up 12 percent.
Travelers (NYSE: TRV)
Why it made the list: Travelers posted a first quarter combined ratio of 88.6 and an underlying combined ratio of 85.3, which strips out catastrophes and reserve changes. Underlying underwriting income came in at $1.5 billion before taxes for the sixth quarter in a row.
The bull case: Travelers is the steadiest commercial lines franchise in the group, and it pairs that consistency with meaningful share buybacks and investment income that keeps climbing as bond portfolios roll into higher yields.
The risk: Travelers has the most direct exposure on this list to softening commercial prices, the segment where premiums just declined industry-wide.
Key number: Six straight quarters of underlying underwriting income above $1.5 billion.
Allstate (NYSE: ALL)
Why it made the list: Allstate has completed one of the sharpest turnarounds in personal lines. Its auto combined ratio improved 9.4 points year over year to 81.9 in the first quarter, and net income reached $2.5 billion.
The bull case: With auto repricing done, Allstate can shift from defense to growth, adding policies again while both auto and homeowners run above target profitability.
The risk: First quarter results were flattered by $838 million in reserve releases from prior years, and the homeowners book carries real catastrophe exposure every hurricane season.
Key number: A 9.4 point improvement in the auto combined ratio in one year.
Aflac (NYSE: AFL)
Why it made the list: Aflac dominates supplemental health insurance, the policies that pay cash directly to workers when illness or injury strikes, in both Japan and the US. It converts that steady premium stream into one of the most reliable capital return programs in the sector.
The bull case: Supplemental health has few large competitors, margins stay high through economic cycles, and Aflac keeps shrinking its share count through buybacks while raising the dividend every year.
The risk: Aflac's Japanese policy count has been declining for years, and a weaker yen reduces the dollar value of the earnings Japan produces.
Key number: 43 consecutive years of dividend increases.
Arch Capital (NASDAQ: ACGL)
Why it made the list: Arch Capital runs three businesses, specialty insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance, and moves capital to whichever offers the best returns at each point in the cycle. It produced a 17.8 percent annualized operating return on equity in the first quarter while growing book value per share, the net worth behind each share, to $66.19.
The bull case: Arch's cycle management is the best in the business. When reinsurance prices soften, it pulls back and buys in stock rather than writing bad business.
The risk: Arch pays no regular dividend, so the return depends entirely on book value growth and buybacks, and reinsurance pricing is now softening alongside commercial lines.
Key number: 17.8 percent annualized operating return on equity.
Kinsale Capital (NYSE: KNSL)
Why it made the list: Kinsale Capital is the only pure play on excess and surplus lines, the market for unusual risks that standard insurers decline, where carriers have far more freedom on pricing and terms. Its combined ratio came in at 75.9 in 2025, roughly 20 points better than the industry.
The bull case: Kinsale's technology-driven, low-cost underwriting model lets it quote small, odd risks profitably at speed, and it still holds only a small slice of a growing excess and surplus market. It has also raised its dividend ten years running.
The risk: Growth has slowed from its former 30 percent pace, and the stock has already been repriced hard for that slowdown, trading well below its 52-week high. More competition returning to specialty lines would pressure both growth and margins.
Key number: A 75.9 combined ratio, the best underwriting result in this group.
Insurance Stocks at a Glance
What Is Happening in the Insurance Sector
The pricing cycle is turning. After seven years of rising commercial premiums, prices declined in the first quarter, led by property coverage. Soft cycles reward the carriers on this list precisely because they can walk away from underpriced business while weaker competitors chase it. Personal lines look healthier: auto insurers finished repricing after the inflation spike in claims costs, which is why Progressive and Allstate are growing again with strong margins.
The second earnings engine is investment income. Insurers collect premiums up front and invest that money, called float, until claims come due. With yields still well above the levels of the last decade, bond portfolios keep rolling into higher-paying securities each quarter. That same dynamic is lifting the banks we covered in our guide to the best bank stocks.
Several names here also anchor other VonTrend lists. Chubb-style dividend streaks put insurers alongside the payers in our guide to the best dividend stocks, and the biggest carriers qualify for our list of the best blue chip stocks.
What to watch:
- Second quarter earnings: Travelers opens the group's reporting in mid-July, and its commercial renewal pricing will show how fast the soft cycle is spreading.
- Hurricane season: The Atlantic season runs through November. A major US landfall would hit third quarter results at Allstate, Travelers, and Chubb hardest.
- Interest rates: Federal Reserve cuts would slow the investment income growth that has been carrying results across the sector.
Bottom Line
Insurance stocks suit investors who want financial sector exposure without bank-style credit risk. The seven carriers here earn money on underwriting first and investments second, which is the right order. Dividend investors should start with Chubb and Aflac, growth investors with Progressive and Kinsale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best insurance stocks to buy?
Chubb, Progressive, Travelers, Allstate, Aflac, Arch Capital, and Kinsale Capital top our list. Each combines a profitable underwriting operation, a double-digit return on equity, and a balance sheet built to absorb catastrophe years without cutting shareholder returns.
Are insurance stocks a good investment?
Insurance stocks reward patient investors because well-run carriers earn money two ways: on underwriting and on investing premium float. They tend to hold up better than banks in recessions since people keep paying for auto, home, and health coverage. The main risks are catastrophe losses and soft pricing cycles.
Do insurance stocks pay dividends?
Most large insurers pay growing dividends. Aflac has raised its payout for 43 consecutive years and Chubb for 33, two of the longest streaks in the financial sector. Kinsale has raised its dividend every year for a decade. Arch Capital is the exception on our list, returning capital through buybacks instead of a regular dividend.
What is a combined ratio in insurance?
The combined ratio measures an insurer's claims and expenses as a percentage of the premiums it collects. A ratio under 100 means the underwriting operation is profitable before any investment income. Kinsale's 75.9 and Chubb's 84.0 are among the strongest results in the industry.
How do insurance companies make money?
Insurers make money in two ways. First is underwriting profit, collecting more in premiums than they pay in claims and expenses. Second is investment income, earned by investing the float, the premium dollars held between the time customers pay and the time claims are settled. The best insurers, like the seven on this list, are profitable on both.
