Professional liability rates for nursing homes and other senior care providers have moderated since early 2024, but one of the world’s foremost risk management firms is predicting an “upward rate trend” through this summer.

WillisTowersWatson, however, said that rates for many types of plans in the senior living space have adjusted enough that it may be worth shopping early for some types of policies.

“Insurance carriers continue to pursue growth strategies under the belief that rate adequacy has reached a profitable level across most lines,” WTW noted in its Insurance Marketplace Realities 2025 Spring Update published Friday.

It reported that US policyholders have more than $1 trillion in surplus, or far more assets than liabilities.

“As a result, underwriting appetite has begun to widen and the elevated pricing seen during the height of the hard market has notably moderated,” the report added. “Buyers are increasingly encountering a competitive underwriting environment, particularly in lines where capital is not only sufficient but abundant.”

Rates for senior living (in which WTW includes nursing homes) liability policies jumped 12% in the final quarter of 2024 and did so again the first quarter of this year. WTW’s experts are predicting a 5% to 15% average jump for spring and summer, with providers who had excess claims facing higher rate hikes.

That’s still below the 16% increase recorded in early 2022, when nursing homes were rocked by mounting COVID lawsuits.

Now, however, falls have returned to their long-time spot atop the loss leaders, both for cost and frequency of claims.

On the other hand, there may be some hope in regard to so-called high-dollar “nuclear” verdicts, which WTW said had previously caused insurers to cut their policy limits in some areas. The report pointed to recent tort reform passage in Georgia as a hopeful sign that legislators nationwide “are becoming more sensitive to the growing costs of professional liability insurance.”

“The litigious environment in senior living has been a barrier for too long, and it’s believed that tort reform will positively impact both residents and senior living operators,” the WTW experts wrote.

Communicating for consideration

WTW’s Wayne Wills, senior living industry segment leader for North America, wrote that the firm encourages providers to work in partnership with insurance carriers on liability and other lines of protection.

“Time and again, we see these partnerships paying off when faced with renewals in years following a difficult claim,” he wrote.

There are two specific areas where it pays to share a facility’s specific strategies and policies. Those include staff retention strategies because, WTW said, a stable workforce “goes a long way toward the prevention of professional liability claims.” Protocols to prevent slips, trips and falls among employees, who account for most injuries in the setting, could also help bring increases on workers compensation policies.

Generally, workers comp prices are expected to remain about level, with changes ranging from a 5% drop to a 5% increase.

When it comes to property insurance, the news is good for providers in areas where the risk of catastrophic weather events is low — so good, in fact, that WTW said those types of providers should shop around right now.

But brokers and insurance companies continue to deal with increased property losses as weather threats expand, meaning “significant” increases of higher than 8% for those with loss history or high potential to experience natural disasters.