While the London Market has doubled in size over the past decade to $187 billion in GWP and contributes £61 billion to UK GDP, some smaller jurisdictions have reportedly grown faster in recent years, highlighting, according to the London Market Group (LMG), the need for new capital, high-quality young talent, and technological innovation to seize emerging opportunities.
Chris Lay, Chair of the LMG, commenting on the new 2026 London Matters data, which assessed the size and performance of the London insurance market, emphasised that focusing on these three priorities is essential for reinforcing the market’s global position.
“London remains the global leader in risk transfer, demonstrated by its growth in absolute size and market share. Yet we cannot be complacent as, whilst much smaller than London, some other jurisdictions have grown faster in recent years,” Lay observed.
On the need for diverse sources of new capacity to underwrite rising risks and help close protection gaps, the LMG noted that since its launch in 2022, London Bridge 2 has grown by around 150% per year, reaching approximately $1.9 billion in deployed capital—about 2% of global alternative capital.
“The London Market was not present in the alternative capital space prior to 2022. While the UK ILS regime has stalled, the success of London Bridge 2 has demonstrated that London can efficiently connect investors to diversified risks,” Lay said.
He continued, “It is clear that the London Market needs to build on this success and do more to attract alternative capital through structures such as captives and ILS. There is a real opportunity here, and the government and regulators are crucial to the process of simplifying access, streamlining processes and promoting our market as a great home for external capital.”
The LMG also suggested that further market growth will come from the consolidation of London’s position in traditional risks as well as from its track record for innovative thinking.
The trade body explained that London remains the leading centre for marine and aviation insurance, holding a 45% market share, and accounts for just under 20% of the property market.
At the same time, it is reportedly already Europe’s largest cyber insurance hub, with over 800 firms offering cybersecurity products and services—a roughly 30% increase since 2022.
Looking ahead, as renewables rise to around 20% of total energy use by 2030, London Market premiums in this sector could grow by up to $0.8 billion between 2024 and 2030.
Finally, the rapid development of AI capabilities is said to present an opportunity for the Market to better understand emerging risks and create new products that address insureds’ evolving exposures.
On how the people and talent shortages are becoming critical, Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of the LMG, commented, “The age profile of the London Market is estimated to shift significantly over the next ten years. This is most dramatic in the under-30s, whose share of the total workforce is predicted to fall from 24% to 7% in that period.
“Even as the debate continues around the potential for AI and other systemic shifts in the way we work and the skills we need, this potential imbalance in our market demographic should ring alarm bells.
“In order to continue to grow, we must have talented teams in place and fully trained, and that takes time. Graduate and entry-level employment needs to increase to meet demand in the next decade, but this is not being reflected in current hiring. In fact, graduate job postings in insurance fell 18% YoY in September 2025. This is an industry-wide problem that needs industry-wide attention.”
Michael van der Straaten, CEO of insurer Antares, who attended today’s data launch alongside Treasury Secretary Lucy Rigby and LMG CEO Wagstaff, reflected on his firm’s own experiences with talent in the market, stating, “As a mid-sized London Market firm, we feel these talent pressures every day. Experienced hires are harder to find, but the real risk is the growing gap in graduate and school-leaver recruitment.
“At Antares, we see first-hand how vital early-career talent is and have been very active in seeking out and employing the best graduates and school leavers. Without sustained investment in developing new entrants, we risk constraining both our own growth and the long-term strength of the London Market.”
“London Matters also shows the huge growth trajectory of specialty insurance as a sector within the City. We have gone from being less than a quarter of the City’s GDP to being over a third of its GDP in a decade.
“Our growth outpaces every other sector in financial services, and yet we recruit many fewer graduates and apprentices. Imagine how much more we could grow if everyone in the industry focused on bringing in the best talent from all sources to help us lead the City and the world in this field.”
