Premium Renewal Rates Show Mixed Results
The February 2026 Ivans Index reveals a mixed pricing environment for commercial insurance lines. General Liability and Workers’ Compensation were the only categories to see month-over-month improvement in premium renewal rates, while year-over-year gains held steady for most lines except Workers' Comp.
While General Liability and Workers' Compensation saw modest month-over-month improvements, the broader commercial insurance market continues to face upward pricing pressure. General Liability's average renewal rate rose to 7.01% in February from 6.89% in January, and Workers' Comp's rate, though still negative, improved from -2.17% to -1.43%. Other key commercial lines experienced a deceleration in premium increases compared to January. Commercial Property rates eased slightly from 7.22% to 7.05%, and Commercial Auto slowed from a 5.62% increase to 5.18%. The most significant slowdown was in Umbrella policies, which dropped from a 10.47% increase in January to 8.84% in February. The outlier remains Workers' Compensation, which was the only major commercial line to see a year-over-year decline in average premium renewal rates. This ongoing downward pressure reflects strong underwriting profitability and benign loss trends in the sector. Despite the monthly easing in some categories, the market is best described as a moderating hard market rather than a soft one. Concerns over social inflation, large jury awards, and catastrophe losses continue to shape underwriting appetite, particularly in excess casualty and commercial property lines. The Ivans Index data is derived from over 120 million transactions from more than 38,000 agencies and 700 carriers, providing a broad view of market trends.
