Ivans: US Commercial Premium Renewal Rate Increases Slowed in October

Year over year, average U.S. commercial premium renewals for all major commercial lines of business are up except for workers’ compensation, according to the Ivans Index.

Chicago-based Ivans recently released its latest index results, with commercial auto, business owners policy, general liability, commercial property and umbrella seeing increased average premium renewal rates for October, but less than the prior month.

The findings draw on more than 120 million insurance transactions across the U.S. market, and includes more than 38,000 agencies and 700 carriers and managing general agents.

Premium renewal rate change by line of business for October 2026 highlights include:

• Commercial Auto: 2.80%, down from 3.29% at the end of September.
• BOP: 5.21%, down from 5.45% last month.
• General Liability: 3.10%, down slightly from 3.19% in September.
• Commercial Property: 5.37%, up from 5.11% last month.
• Umbrella: 6.08%, down from 6.40% in September.
• Workers’ Compensation: -1.45%, down from -1.14% last month.

Looking at results from the third quarter 2026, all major lines of business saw a decrease in average premium renewal rate change compared with the prior quarter, except workers’ comp, which saw a slight increase.

For commercial auto, Q3 average premium renewal rate averaged 3.63%, a decrease compared to Q2’s average premium renewal rate of 4.93%. Commercial auto rate increases at renewal have been trending down since April 2026. Rate renewals averages 7.6% in Q3 2025, said Applied System’s Ivans.

Average premium renewal rate change for commercial property experienced a decrease during Q3 2026 of 5.65% compared with 6.40% in Q2. Rates were up 7.64% in Q3 2025.