Specialty insurers are pricing 2020 risk into 2026 liability
Rates have fallen to pre-pandemic levels while cannabis, social media, and cyber claims introduce exposure categories with no loss history to price against.
of manufacturing cyber losses now from ransomware, eliminating diversification assumptions
WTW data shows specialty pricing has reverted to 2020 levels while 80% of CROs now rank cyber as a top-five risk, up 14 points year-over-year, as novel liability classes emerge without actuarial precedent.
One pattern. Trace it.
- 01
A pattern worth naming
(2) Murray v. Cresco initial scheduling order (expected Q3 2026) will signal whether the court views this as viable class action or targets dismissal — watch for any copycat cannabis filings in California or Illinois.
- Shift
Specialty rates reached 2020 levels after three years of 15-25% annual increases, erasing hardening gains as liability exposures expand
- Shift
Cannabis litigation now follows Big Tobacco playbook with 320-page class action testing consumer deception theories across fragmented state regimes
- Shift
Manufacturing cyber risk concentrated in single attack vector for first time, with ransomware representing 90%+ of sector losses
“If specialty rates are back to 2020 levels but cannabis and social media liabilities didn't exist then, where is our actuarial basis breaking?”
Ask your CRO whether current specialty pricing adequately reserves for cannabis, social media, or cyber losses given zero actuarial history in those categories.
By Joseph Lancaster, Editor — with research from Pine Needle's intelligence layer.
The next argument lands tomorrow at 6 a.m. Pacific. Get it in your inbox →