Commercial Insurance Rates Are Falling: 86% of Tracked States Cut Workers’ Comp in 2026, FBQ Rate Index™ Hits 95.8
Commercial insurance buyers are catching a break. The FBQ Rate Index™, a branded composite measure of US commercial-insurance rate direction computed from actual rate filings carriers submit to state regulators, sits at 95.8 — below 100, signaling falling rates — according to Fast Business Quote.
Across the 35 states and 9 lines of business tracked, 86% of states filed workers’ compensation rate decreases in 2026, averaging −5.4%. The Fast Business Quote tracker captures 50 publicly-filed rate filings as of this release; every figure traces to a public SERFF filing on the originating state’s Department of Insurance portal.
The biggest movers
- Nevada: −32.8% (eff 10/1/2026) — the largest US loss-cost decrease, legislatively driven by SB 317 (payroll-cap methodology change)
- North Dakota: −23.8% on the largest-decrease class (Oil & Gas; majority of classes decreasing) — ND WSI monopolistic fund
- Wyoming: −15.0% — third consecutive year of decreases (cumulative −33% over 3 years)
- Maryland: −12.3% — one of the larger NCCI 2026 voluntary decreases
- South Dakota: −12.2% (Travelers carrier LCM) — carrier-level reduction
- Florida: −6.9% APPROVED — 9th consecutive year of FL WC rate decreases (Federal classifications: −14.3%)
The exceptions — rates rising
- Nevada (WC voluntary): +21.6% INCREASE eff 3/1/2026 — the largest 2026 WC state-level increase nationally; preceded the Oct 1 SB 317 decrease
- California: +10.4% proposed pure-premium-rate (WCIRB CA, eff 9/1/2026)
- Washington L&I: +4.9% adopted (eff 1/1/2026, monopolistic state fund)
- North Carolina Homeowners: +7.5% APPROVED via Causey settlement — negotiated DOWN from NCRB’s requested +42.2% statewide
- Citizens Florida Commercial Lines: +10.4% average increase (eff 7/1/2026, residual market)
“Most carriers are filing rate decreases because workplace-injury claims have improved — but it’s uneven, and a few states are moving the other way. We publish the actual filed numbers, cited to the SERFF tracking number, so business owners can see where their state really stands instead of a blended national average.”
— Jason Wootton, licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent (NPN 7694718) and editorial reviewer at Fast Business Quote
The full, continuously updated dataset is available at the FBQ Rate Index™ (fastbusinessquote.com/rate-index) and the rate-changes tracker at fastbusinessquote.com/insurance-rate-changes, where every captured filing links directly to its primary regulator source. The dataset covers all nine lines of business currently tracked: Workers Compensation, Commercial Auto, Commercial General Liability, Commercial Property, Businessowners Policy (BOP), Windstorm Property Residual, Homeowners, Personal Auto Carrier-Filed, and Residual Market Commercial.
Cite this
“FBQ Rate Index™ — 95.8 (rates falling), June 2026, Fast Business Quote. Computed from 50 SERFF-cited state filings across 35 states and 9 lines of business.”
Source: fastbusinessquote.com/rate-index · methodology
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About Fast Business Quote
Fast Business Quote is a US commercial-insurance comparison marketplace and the only one that publishes the actual rates carriers file with state regulators — primary-source, SERFF-cited — across 56+ industries and the company’s 8 core coverages. All coverage content is reviewed by a licensed Property & Casualty agent (Jason Wootton, NPN 7694718). Editorial methodology: fastbusinessquote.com/methodology.
Media contact
Justin Marks, Founder & Editor — press@fastbusinessquote.com
Phone: 1-833-505-2594