Sectors & IndustriesFinancial ServicesInsurance - Specialty

Best Specialty Insurance Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top specialty insurance stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best specialty insurance stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best specialty insurance stocks to buy right now are:

James River Group Holdings (NASDAQ:JRVR) is the #1 top specialty insurance stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for James River Group Holdings (NASDAQ:JRVR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

James River Group Holdings (NASDAQ:JRVR) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is -3 points lower than the specialty insurance industry average of 33. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates JRVR as a "B".

JRVR passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. James River Group Holdings has seen its stock return 62.59% over the past year, overperforming other specialty insurance stocks by 70 percentage points.

James River Group Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $7.00, an upside of 7.36% from James River Group Holdings's current stock price of $6.52.

James River Group Holdings stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering James River Group Holdings, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) is the #2 top specialty insurance stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 11 points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 33.

FAF passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. First American Financial has seen its stock return 1.89% over the past year, overperforming other specialty insurance stocks by 10 percentage points.

First American Financial has an average 1 year price target of $78.50, an upside of 18.67% from First American Financial's current stock price of $66.15.

First American Financial stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering First American Financial, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 25% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Axis Capital Holdings (NYSE:AXS) is the #3 top specialty insurance stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Axis Capital Holdings (NYSE:AXS) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Axis Capital Holdings (NYSE:AXS) has a Due Diligence Score of 19, which is -14 points lower than the specialty insurance industry average of 33.

AXS passed 8 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Axis Capital Holdings has seen its stock return 5.51% over the past year, overperforming other specialty insurance stocks by 13 percentage points.

Axis Capital Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $121.86, an upside of 20.82% from Axis Capital Holdings's current stock price of $100.86.

Axis Capital Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Axis Capital Holdings, 28.57% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 42.86% have issued a Buy, 28.57% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 14 specialty insurance stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 specialty insurance stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Amerisafe (NASDAQ:AMSF) has an annual dividend yield of 7.77%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 2.35%. Amerisafe's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% ten times in the last 10 years. Amerisafe's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Amerisafe's dividend payout ratio of 103.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Investors Title Co (NASDAQ:ITIC) has an annual dividend yield of 4.7%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 2.35%. Investors Title Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eight times in the last 10 years. Investors Title Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Investors Title Co's dividend payout ratio of 83% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) has an annual dividend yield of 3.31%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 2.35%. First American Financial's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. First American Financial's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

First American Financial's dividend payout ratio of 36.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Specialty insurance stocks were up 0.68% in the last day, and down -0.96% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why specialty insurance stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued specialty insurance stocks right now are:

James River Group Holdings (NASDAQ:JRVR) is the most undervalued specialty insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

James River Group Holdings has a valuation score of 71, which is 31 points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 40. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

James River Group Holdings's stock has gained 62.59% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty insurance industry by 70 percentage points.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) is the second most undervalued specialty insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Radian Group has a valuation score of 71, which is 31 points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 40. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Radian Group's stock has gained 3.77% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty insurance industry by 12 percentage points.

Axis Capital Holdings (NYSE:AXS) is the third most undervalued specialty insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Axis Capital Holdings has a valuation score of 43, which is 3 points higher than the specialty insurance industry average of 40. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Axis Capital Holdings's stock has gained 5.51% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty insurance industry by 13 percentage points.

58.82% of specialty insurance stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty insurance stocks to rise by 25.02% over the next year.

0% of specialty insurance stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 5% of specialty insurance stocks are rated B (Buy), 75% are rated C (Hold), 20% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).