The U.S. States Where Business Insurance Rates Are Rising Fastest in 2026
A SERFF-cited ranking of the states filing the steepest commercial-insurance rate INCREASES this year — from Fast Business Quote's live tracker of state DOI rate filings.
Of the 31 U.S. states tracked in the FBQ Rate Index™, 6 filed commercial-insurance rate INCREASES in their most-recent cycle. The steepest rise — CA +10.4% (Workers Compensation, effective 9/1/2026) — was filed against the broader 2026 trend, where the FBQ Rate Index sits at 97.0 (rates falling).
By-state ranking — rising rates
Every row links back to its primary-source filing on the originating state Department of Insurance or rating-bureau portal. All figures are filed rates (regulatory primary source) — not blended quote medians.
| Rank | State | % Change | Line of business | Effective | Filing reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | +10.4% | Workers Compensation | 9/1/2026 | — |
| 2 | FL | +10.4% | Commercial Property | 7/1/2026 | — |
| 3 | NC | +4.5% | Commercial Auto | 4/1/2026 | — |
| 4 | DC | +1.7% | Workers Compensation | 1/1/2026 | SERFF #NCCI-134640882 |
| 5 | MO | +1.3% | Workers Compensation | 1/1/2026 | SERFF #NCCI-134646477 |
Counterpoint — deepest rate cuts
The 2026 macro trend is rates FALLING — the FBQ Rate Index sits below 100. The deepest cuts captured in the tracker:
- NV −32.8% — Workers Compensation, effective 10/1/2026 (SERFF #NCCI-134895530)
- WV −13.5% — Workers Compensation, effective 1/1/2026 (SERFF #NCCI-134619579)
- AR −9.8% — Workers Compensation, effective 7/1/2026 (SERFF #NCCI-134876672)
- GA −8.8% — Workers Compensation, effective 3/1/2026 (SERFF #NCCI-134736978)
- VA −7.7% — Workers Compensation, effective 4/1/2026
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Methodology
This study ranks U.S. states by the signed % rate change from their most-recently-effective commercial-insurance rate filing captured in the FBQ Rate Index™ tracker as of July 14, 2026. Data is sourced from public SERFF (System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing) filings on each state's Department of Insurance portal, plus NCCI advisory loss-cost filings, ISO commercial-lines filings, and non-NCCI bureau filings (WCIRB CA, NYCIRB NY, NJCRIB, PCRB PA, WCRB WI, Oregon DCBS) and monopolistic-state funds (Ohio BWC, Washington L&I, Wyoming DWS, North Dakota WSI).
Each captured filing with a stated % rate change contributes its signed % to the state's most-recent-effective ranking; states are sorted by signed % DESC for the rising-rates table (positive = increase). Filings without a clean signed % (per-vehicle base rates, LCM-only filings, rule revisions) are excluded from this study but tracked in the underlying index. Methodology lives at /methodology; the live tracker is at /insurance-rate-changes; the composite directional index is at /rate-index.
Expert commentary
"The 2026 commercial-insurance picture is bifurcated. The composite is falling — most states are cutting WC and standard lines on the back of strong reserves and softening loss trends. But the states that are RISING are rising hard, and they're concentrated in specific line/peril combinations: catastrophe-prone property in coastal Southeast, comp in states absorbing recent benefit-level changes, commercial auto where the post-2022 hard market hasn't fully unwound. The granular state-line view is the only way to see this without averaging it away."
— Jason Wootton, California Property & Casualty (NPN 7694718), Editorial Reviewer, Fast Business Quote
Cite this study
For press inquiries
Journalists writing about commercial-insurance rate trends are welcome to cite this study and to request additional state-line cuts of the underlying SERFF data. Contact press@fastbusinessquote.com for interviews with Jason Wootton (NPN 7694718) or for custom data pulls. Media kit + spokespersons at /press.
Related FBQ data assets
- FBQ Rate Index™ — the composite directional index, live
- Insurance Rate Changes Tracker — chronological feed of every captured SERFF filing
- Q2 2026 State of Commercial Insurance Rates Briefing — the quarterly snapshot
- How insurance rates are set — the regulatory + actuarial mechanics
- Editorial & sourcing methodology