Great American and Swiss Re rise in Illinois’s booming surplus lines market

Swiss Re’s 96% premium surge in Illinois surplus lines, rising to nearly $60 million, is a standout of strategic placement in the excess property space. Kyle Burnett, head of E&S Property for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, credits the shift to both rising demand and the flexibility of the excess market: “The freedom of rate and form allows (Illinois) carriers to customize coverage to fit the needs of clients based on the economic climate, what they can afford and the coverage most needed to protect their assets,” he said in the full report. Burnett’s insight, combined with decades-long commentary from SLAI CEO David Ocasek, anchors the report’s data analysis. Ocasek’s SLAI tenure, stretching back to 1985, has seen Illinois’s excess market balloon from just over $200 million in 1999 to $4.4 billion in 2024.