Quick Answer
Commercial insurance rates fell on average in 2026, down 2.0% across all account sizes in Q2 according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. But not every line is falling. Umbrella rose 5.3% and commercial auto 4.5%, while property dropped 6.3%. Your own rate still depends on your claims, limits, industry, location and how well your account is presented to underwriters.
Ready to check your coverage?
“Even though I’ve never filed a claim and my policy has remained unchanged, they unexpectedly increased my renewal premium by 60%.” That’s how one business owner described a renewal. Another put it more bluntly: “If you don’t file any claims, they increase your premium. If you do file a claim, they choose not to renew your policy.” If your renewal went up while the headlines say the market is softening, you’re not imagining it, and you’re not stuck with it.
The Coyle Group is a commercial insurance agency for business owners who’ve outgrown one-size-fits-all coverage and need a specialist who understands the nuances.
You opened the renewal, saw a bigger number and got an explanation that didn’t really explain anything. That’s common, and it’s fixable. We manage the market for you: we separate what the market is doing from what your account is doing, then make sure the right insurers see an accurate picture of your business. 95% of our clients stay with us, and one has been with us for over 40 years. The next step is a short, confidential call.
What do higher commercial insurance rates actually cost you?
An unchecked increase compounds every year you renew without questioning it. A 15% jump on a $100,000 program is $15,000 this year, and it becomes the new base for next year’s increase. The bigger cost is often the response: cutting limits or raising deductibles blindly.
The bills that show up
The premium itself.
One trucking owner’s renewal went from $46,000 to $60,000, a $14,000 increase on a single line.
The deductible you agreed to.
A higher deductible lowers the premium, but you pay the first dollars of every claim out of cash flow.
The limit you cut.
A lower umbrella limit saves a few thousand dollars until a lawsuit lands above it.
The non-renewal scramble.
A last-minute replacement is rarely well priced.
What are commercial insurance rates?
Commercial insurance rates are the prices insurers charge businesses for coverage, usually set per unit of exposure such as payroll, revenue, vehicles or property value. Your premium is the rate multiplied by your exposure, then adjusted for your claims and controls. The rate can fall while your premium rises, and that’s the part most renewals never explain.
Commercial insurance rates in simple terms
Think of the rate as a price per unit and your exposure as the number of units. If your payroll grew 20% and the rate fell 3%, your premium still goes up. Each policy in your program, from property to coverages like D&O, EPLI and cyber, has its own rate and its own direction.
Key aspects at a glance
Here’s how the moving parts of commercial insurance rates fit together:
Part |
What it means |
Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
|
Base rate |
The insurer’s price per unit of exposure |
Moves with the market cycle |
|
Exposure base |
Payroll, revenue, vehicles, square footage or values |
Grows as your business grows |
|
Experience |
Your loss history, often five years |
Claims push your rate above peers |
|
Credits and debits |
Underwriter adjustments for controls or concerns |
Good risk management earns credits |
|
Limits and deductibles |
How much the insurer pays and where it starts |
Higher limits cost more; higher deductibles cost less |
Are commercial insurance rates going up or down in 2026?
On average, commercial insurance rates are going down in 2026. The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers reported an average premium decrease of 2.0% across all account sizes in Q2 2026, after Q1 brought the first decrease since 2017. However, the average hides lines that are still rising, and those lines decide many renewals.
Rates by line in Q2 2026
The Council’s Q2 2026 P&C Market Survey breaks the movement out by line (the latest published quarter as of November 2026):
Line of coverage |
Average Q2 2026 change |
Direction |
|---|---|---|
|
Commercial property |
-6.3% |
Falling fastest |
|
Cyber |
-3.2% |
Ninth straight quarterly decrease |
|
Workers compensation |
-3.2% |
Eighteenth straight quarterly decrease |
|
Commercial auto |
+4.5% |
Still rising |
|
Umbrella |
+5.3% |
35th straight quarterly increase |
|
All lines, all account sizes |
-2.0% |
Soft overall |
Why umbrella and auto keep climbing
Nuclear verdicts tied to commercial auto accidents are the main reason. The Council noted that 40% of respondents saw less umbrella capacity this quarter, which means lower limits and higher prices for the same tower. The Insurance Information Institute and the Casualty Actuarial Society estimated that social inflation increased commercial auto liability claims by more than $20 billion between 2010 and 2019. Insurers have also been trimming property and workers comp prices to offset the increases they need on auto and umbrella.
Why account size changes your number
Large accounts saw the biggest decreases, at 3.7% on average. Medium accounts fell 1.9%, and small accounts fell only 0.5%. In other words, a smaller business with a fleet and an umbrella policy can see its total premium rise in the same quarter the market is called soft.
Got an increase you can’t reconcile with these numbers? Book a call and we’ll walk through your renewal line by line.
Why were commercial insurance rates increasing in 2021?
In 2021, commercial insurance rates were rising on almost every line except workers compensation. Catastrophe losses, thin underwriting profits, rising reinsurance costs and weak investment returns all hit at once. This is the market I described when this article first ran, and it explains why many programs are still priced off a high base.
What we saw in 2021
Over the past several years, you may have noticed the cost of your business insurance increase, and in 2021 you may have seen an even greater increase in those costs. So what was going on with insurance rates for businesses in 2021?
What we saw that year is that most businesses were seeing an increase in rates in just about all policies they purchased except workers compensation. This included business owner’s type policies sold to the small commercial market, up to larger package policies sold to mid-market firms.
Tighter underwriting, not just higher prices
In addition to increasing rates, we saw a more disciplined approach to underwriting. That meant if you’d had claims over the past few years, you may have needed to accept more risk in the form of higher deductibles. In fact, if you’d had claims in a particular coverage line, you saw more dramatic price increases than your peers without claims activity.
The lines that led the increases
Lines of coverage such as D&O, Employment Practice Liability, and then cyber insurance were becoming increasingly expensive due to claim costs. Today, D&O, EPLI and cyber are among the lines falling, which shows how fast the cycle can turn.
What I expected then, and what happened
Here’s the bottom line as I put it in 2021: we were going to see this hard market probably at least through 2022, maybe longer. For the balance of 2021, the general estimated price increases were somewhere between 5% to 25%, depending on your location, your operations and your underwriting characteristics. Some lines saw higher renewal increases, such as fleet automobile, cyber and D&O. Workers compensation was probably the only line that might decrease or remain flat. The hard market did run well past 2022, and fleet auto is still rising today.
Watch: Why are Commercial Insurance Rates Increasing in 2021?
What drives commercial insurance rates up and down?
Commercial insurance rates move in cycles driven by insurer profits, investment returns, the economy and reinsurance costs. When those squeeze insurers, prices rise and coverage tightens; when they ease, insurers compete. However, a soft cycle doesn’t erase the underlying risks, and that’s why rates on some lines keep climbing.
Hard and soft markets
The insurance business runs in cycles of what we call hard and soft markets. Hard markets are defined as times when prices are increasing, and obtaining coverage may be difficult. On the other hand, soft markets are when prices are competitive, and the availability of coverage is pretty free and open. Cycles between hard and soft markets can generally last anywhere between 3 to 8 years at a time. For the full picture, see my guide to what a hard market in business insurance is.
Watch: What is a hard market in business insurance?
The four forces behind the cycle
Those fluctuating cycles are driven by four forces:
Underwriting profitability.
Whether premiums cover claims and expenses.
Investment returns.
What insurance companies earn on their surplus or reserve capital.
The economy.
Inflation raises what it costs to repair, rebuild and settle claims.
The cost of reinsurance.
The insurance that insurance companies purchase to spread their risk.
How 2021 added up
What we saw in 2021 was a mixed bag of poor results. There had been back-to-back years of catastrophic claims in the form of wildfires, hurricanes, and floods. After several years of soft market conditions where prices may have been depressed, there was a lack of underwriting profit for many lines of coverage. The cost of reinsurance had been steadily increasing, and investments that insurance companies make in long term holdings such as mortgages, real estate, and bonds had been suppressed. This all added up to why insurers were increasing rates.
Why catastrophes still matter in 2026
Catastrophe losses haven’t gone away; they’ve just been lighter. Swiss Re Institute put 2025 global insured natural catastrophe losses at USD 107 billion, including about USD 40 billion from the Los Angeles wildfires. Swiss Re called the below-trend year a result of favourable variability, not lower risk, and estimated USD 148 billion if 2026 follows the long-term trend.
What sets your own commercial insurance rate?
Your own rate comes from your claims history, your exposure, your limits and deductibles, your industry and location, and the risk controls you can prove. The market sets the starting point. Underwriters then move your price up or down from there, and the file your broker submits shapes what they see.
The underwriting factors that move your price
Here’s what underwriters weigh when they price your account:
Factor |
Why underwriters care |
What to have ready |
|---|---|---|
|
Loss history |
Past claims predict future claims |
Five years of loss runs for every line |
|
Exposure growth |
More payroll, revenue or vehicles means more risk |
Current payroll, revenue and schedules |
|
Fleet and drivers |
Auto losses drive umbrella pricing |
Driver list, MVRs, telematics or safety program |
|
Property values and protection |
Rebuild cost and fire protection set property pricing |
Updated replacement-cost values, sprinkler and alarm details |
|
Risk management |
Proven controls earn credits |
Written safety, hiring and contract-review procedures |
Your claim history
Have you reviewed your claim history? If not, I’d recommend asking your broker for a copy of what we call your loss runs for the past 5 years for all lines of coverage you have, then reviewing that with your insurance broker. The more claims you have, the higher your premiums will be, and the tougher it will be to get insurance down the road if claims activity stays that way. On workers comp, those claims also feed your experience mod.
Your risk management practices
Efforts should be made to get claims under control, and that brings us to your risk management practices. The larger your firm, the greater the impact risk management should have on your results. When you can demonstrate the methods and processes you have to control risk within your firm, the greater your credibility with underwriters, who can use your risk management controls to help impact your pricing. The factors that increase business insurance premiums work the same way in reverse.
Watch: What Factors Will Increase Business Insurance Premiums
What do commercial insurance rates cost by line?
For small businesses, published 2025 averages run from about $69 to $127 a month per policy for liability, BOP and workers comp, and $260 to $926 a month per commercial vehicle. Mid-market programs cost far more and are priced individually. However, averages only help you spot an outlier; they don’t price your account.
Typical monthly costs by line
Progressive Commercial publishes 2025 figures for its new customers, as of November 2026:
Coverage |
Median monthly cost |
Average monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
|
General liability |
$55 |
$79 |
|
Business owners policy (BOP) |
$80 |
$127 |
|
Workers compensation |
$76 |
$121 |
|
Professional liability |
$50 |
$69 |
Source: Progressive Commercial business insurance cost data.
Commercial auto costs per vehicle
For vehicles, Progressive Commercial’s 2025 commercial auto averages were about $276 a month for business autos, $260 for contractor vehicles and $926 for for-hire transport trucks.
Mid-market programs: look at total cost of risk
Once you’re past a packaged policy, monthly averages stop being useful. What matters is your total cost of risk: premiums plus deductibles, uninsured claims, downtime and the extra premium a bad loss history adds. Paying slightly more to drive claims down often costs less overall.
What moves those numbers
Limits.
A $1 million/$2 million liability policy generally costs more than $1 million/$1 million.
Deductibles.
Higher deductibles lower premium but raise what you pay per claim.
Industry class.
A roofer and an accounting firm pay very different liability rates.
Location.
Litigation climate and catastrophe exposure vary by state.
Size and complexity.
Multi-state, multi-location operations need custom programs.
Which businesses feel rate changes most?
Businesses with fleets, high liability limits, catastrophe-exposed property or recent claims feel rate changes most. In 2026 that means trucking, contractors, distributors and anyone buying a large umbrella. Meanwhile, office-based firms with clean losses are seeing the biggest relief, especially on property, cyber and management liability.
The businesses most exposed right now
Trucking and delivery fleets.
Commercial auto and umbrella are still rising, so see what’s happening with commercial auto insurance premiums.
Contractors.
Auto, umbrella and contract requirements stack up.
Distributors and manufacturers.
Fleets plus warehouse and plant property values.
Businesses with high umbrella limits.
Capacity is shrinking, so limits cost more; learn how umbrella and excess liability insurance is structured.
The businesses seeing relief
Office-based firms with clean claims are seeing decreases on property, cyber, D&O and EPLI. Property owners now have leverage: the Council reported that 75% of respondents saw more property capacity, after years of commercial property insurance sticker shock. Workers comp continues its long run of decreases, so check your workers compensation insurance pricing against that trend too.
Not sure whether your increase is the market or your account? Contact us and we’ll compare your renewal to the current numbers for each line.
What can you do about rising commercial insurance rates?
Start with your broker, ask specific questions, review your loss runs and prove your risk controls. If the answers are vague, you may have outgrown the relationship. The benefit isn’t only a lower number; it’s knowing every dollar you pay buys protection you actually need.
Ask your broker the right questions
If you see year after year of rate increases, my suggestion is to talk to your insurance broker first. Ask them:
Why have my costs gone up?
Get the split between rate and exposure.
Are the costs unreasonable compared to my peers?
Ask for line-by-line market data.
Have you tested the market before the renewal?
Ask which insurers and why.
Can you show me other quotes?
Ask what each option covers, not just what it costs.
If you’re not getting a great response from your broker, it may be that you’ve outgrown them, and it’s time to move on. A broker of record letter makes that change without starting over. For the full playbook on a specific increase, see what to do about business insurance rate increases.
Watch: Insurance Loss Runs: What are They and Why They’re Needed to Get a Quote
There’s more to this than quotes
Now, there’s a lot more to this than just getting quotes. A lower quote with a narrower form isn’t savings; it’s a gap you haven’t found yet. The benefits:
Money saved.
You pay for exposure you actually have, at the market’s current price.
Risk avoided.
Limits and exclusions are checked before you sign, not after a claim.
Fewer surprises.
You know which lines will rise and why, so you can budget for them.
Start early
If you’ve got a renewal coming up, speak to your broker at least 60 days before the renewal date to discuss what their expectations are and what strategies they’re deploying to buffer potential increases. We start the renewal conversation 90 to 120 days before your policy expires, because that’s when you still have leverage; our commercial insurance renewal checklist shows what to gather.
What should you watch out for when rates change?
Watch for savings that come from quietly reduced coverage, and for increases nobody can explain line by line. Soft markets tempt owners to grab the cheapest quote; hard markets tempt them to cut limits. Either way, the gap shows up at claim time, when it’s too late to fix.
The downsides of chasing a lower rate
Narrower forms.
New exclusions the old policy didn’t have.
Sublimits.
Coverage that caps key losses at small amounts.
Duplicate submissions.
Several brokers approaching the same insurers can block your account.
Red flags in your renewal
Real-world example: the building insured at a third of its value.
A $40M food distributor came to us still on a BOP, with its 40,000 square foot building insured for about $3 million. Replacement cost was closer to $8 million to $10 million. Against an 80% coinsurance clause, a $500,000 partial loss could have paid only $150,000 to $250,000. We corrected the coverage to true replacement cost.
Why work with The Coyle Group on your commercial insurance rates?
We manage the market for you, so the right insurers compete for an accurately presented account. I audit programs for a living, and I find a fatal flaw in roughly 9 out of 10 of them. Fixing those flaws usually isn’t expensive; it comes from carelessness, not cost.
The Coyle Process
In a difficult market, process matters more than price. This is our approach to the market as a strategic broker:
Diagnose the risk.
We review your forms, exclusions, limits and loss runs before anything goes to market.
Identify the right insurers.
Those whose appetite fits your industry, fleet and property.
Explain where we’re going and why.
You see the plan before submissions go out.
Bring viable options back.
You compare coverage and price side by side.
The result is fewer applications, fewer duplicate requests and one point of contact.
Watch: Buying Business Insurance: Our Strategic Process
About shopping your coverage
Comparing is smart. Shopping indiscriminately is different: duplicate applications, the same insurers approached by several brokers, and a risk misclassified by a generalist who doesn’t see accounts like yours every day. You don’t need five brokers shopping your insurance. You need one capable broker making sure the right insurers compete for your business.
Who this isn’t right for
If you’re looking for someone to rubber-stamp what you already have at a lower price, there are brokers who will do that. We’re not one of them. We won’t copy a deficient program at the same price and present it as if everything is fine. And if you’re a very small business with a simple, standard risk, a basic packaged policy may serve you well, and I’ll tell you so.
Your next step: a 15-minute call, not an application
When I first wrote this, I said that if you’re not satisfied with your broker’s answers, give me a call and let’s discuss your situation. That still stands. I can describe our process for approaching a difficult market and how we can help you through it.
If you already have coverage.
We’ll do a confidential review of your forms, exclusions and conditions against your renewal.
If you need new coverage.
We’ll build the underwriting picture with you and identify which insurers fit your business.
Ready to find out whether your renewal is priced right? Book a call and let’s have a 15-minute conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Author’s Expertise
This article was written by the CEO of The Coyle Group, Gordon B. Coyle, CPCU, ARM, AMIM, PWCA, who has over 40 years of experience working with business owners of all sizes and industries across the US, solving their insurance challenges.
