commercial property by PMU Specialty — Commercial property rates fell 7% in Q4 2025, driven a booming stock market, surplus capacity, and Canada’s insured weather losses

The Canadian commercial property insurance market is in a meaningful soft cycle, and the data shows it. Commercial property rates fell 7% in Q4 2025, driven by numerous factors: the booming stock market, surplus capacity, and Canada’s insured weather losses dropping from $8.5 billion in 2024 to $2.4 billion in 2025, giving carriers considerably more room to compete on rate. The result is more options and more competitive pricing than brokers have seen in years. Accounts that were non-renewed or pushed into wholesale markets during the hard cycle are now being actively pursued by the same markets that once declined them. That’s the nature of the cycle, and it’s good news for insureds on straightforward risks.

However, the soft market does hide some things, such as pricing becoming a key focus rather than product. For construction cost, inflation has widened the gap between insured values and actual replacement costs on many commercial property files, and a competitively priced renewal isn’t a good outcome if the limits don’t reflect what it would actually cost to rebuild. Clients with strong risk profiles are seeing double-digit rate reductions, but those same clients may be underinsured if their statements of value haven’t kept pace. That’s a conversation brokers need to have at every renewal, regardless of where the market is on price.

This is where a specialist market continues to earn its place in the Canadian insurance market. In an environment where price differentiation is narrowing, service quality and underwriting clarity matter. Standard carriers chasing volume are less equipped to handle accounts with mixed occupancy, older construction, prior losses, or elevated habitational risk profiles. For your files, an MGA still delivers what a generalist can’t: consistent appetite, informed pricing, and terms that reflect the actual risk, not just the market mood.

Data in a soft market by PMU Specialty — For construction cost, inflation has widened the gap between insured values and actual replacement costs on many commercial property files

A well-packaged submission helps specialist underwriters deliver their best work. Speed matters; the broker who returns with accurate coverage and competitive pricing first is in the strongest position. Give your underwriter what they need to be your competitive edge:

A completed, up to date application.
Full property details, construction type, occupancy, protection class, year built, and update history. Showing years and type for electrical, plumbing, heating, and roof.
Five years of loss history. If there are losses, explain them. We love to see accounts where operations learnt from losses and improved their processes.
Current statement of values, reviewed for replacement cost as of this year. Pair the SOV with a building valuation for maximum marks!
A synopsis of the file. Who is the insured, what do they do, how long have they done it, are they experts in their field, how have they improved their operations over time.

If the risk has complexity, address it upfront. Surfacing it proactively signals a broker who knows their account and builds credibility before the review even starts.

We at PMU Specialty want to be your competitive edge. We have underwriters with great knowledge, who want you to win new business accounts, and maintain your renewal book. In a market this competitive, speed and certainty of terms are what set a specialist apart. If you’re placing commercial real estate risks up to $12.5M, bring us your submissions. Or, if you need support on lead or follow lines for larger placements, we can provide you with solutions.

Speed matters; the broker who returns with accurate coverage and competitive pricing first is in the strongest position.

We operate across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, with capacity up to $12.5M per risk. Our appetite is broad, we write offices, retail strips, light industrial, mixed-use, and habitational, including the accounts that standard markets still find difficult. As a Lloyd’s-backed MGA with direct underwriting authority, we move without the referral layers that slow placement elsewhere. Provide your underwriters with the best submissions, and they will get you the best quote.