February's auto increases came with a warning label: 'tempered' now, more later.
Approved in February 2026: rate-increase filings touching 1,000+ Northeast policyholders across workers comp and commercial auto. The pattern is carriers holding visible hikes well below their indicated need — a 7% increase against a 21% indication, a small headline masking a 13.6% cumulative jump. The relief is temporary by design.
Industries in this issue's filings
Lead Filing
Safety Group re-prices a 19,929-policy Massachusetts auto book
Approved February 4, effective May 1. Safety Group raises Massachusetts commercial auto across a 19,929-policyholder, $109.0M book, with non-fleet trucks, tractors and trailers up 6.45% and non-fleet private-passenger types up 7.68%. The carrier is correcting deteriorating Bodily Injury experience by reworking its Risk Score Factors.
Specific segments fare worse: school and church buses take a 15% collision increase, limos and car services 10% on physical damage, and fleets over 40 vehicles get a higher fleet factor. It's the broadest-reach auto filing of the month.
Also Approved This Cycle
Mutual Benefit takes 7% in PA — but indicated need is 20.9%
Mutual Benefit raises Pennsylvania commercial auto 7% on average by adopting ISO's revised loss costs, with non-fleet risks and certain territories hitting the 22.5% cap (physical-damage multipliers up to 2.03). The gap between the 7% taken and the 20.9% indicated is your early warning for 2027.
ICW Group's 'decrease' is really a 13.6% cumulative hike
ICW Group adopts the new PCRB loss costs with a headline April change that looks small — but the cumulative 12-month impact is 13.6%, and some accounts hit the 30.6% individual cap. Domestic and per-capita classes also face new minimums. Don't let the headline fool the renewal conversation.
Nationwide's Harleysville paper jumps 28.8% in CT
On adoption of NCCI voluntary loss costs, Nationwide's Harleysville company raises Connecticut workers-comp 28.8% on average, with a 46.5% max — while a sister company (Depositors) takes just 4.1%. With 11 Nationwide companies writing CT comp, which paper your client sits on now matters by 30+ points.
GEICO hikes Ohio physical damage ~15% as repair losses spike
GEICO raises Ohio business-auto physical damage ~15% with Comprehensive loss ratios at 264% and Collision at 177%. It again benchmarked Progressive for stability and expanded DriveEasy Pro telematics — with new terms allowing driver data to be shared for research and litigation.
Why the 'tempered' theme matters
Three of this month's filings took far less than their actuaries said they needed — Mutual Benefit at 7% against 20.9%, ICW behind a soft headline, others capped. Carriers do this to manage retention, not because the loss pressure eased. When you see a tempered filing, treat next year's renewal as the real one and benchmark now.
Package carriers leaned on liability: medical, condo and umbrella classes took the brunt.
Same screen, every other commercial line approved in February. The liability portion of package and umbrella programs is where carriers pushed hardest — and several filings cap visible renewals while their indicated need runs far higher.
Industries in this issue's filings
Lead Filing
The Hanover re-rates MA small commercial — medical facilities +21.6%
Approved February 9, effective July 1. The Hanover raises its Massachusetts small-commercial package book 6.9% on average across 3,014 policyholders and $13.0M, but the class-level moves are what bite: medical facilities +21.6% liability, cultural institutions +17.1%, condominiums +17.0%, lessor's-risk +14.2%.
Adopting updated ISO loss costs and profitability-based class factors, the filing allows individual policy spikes as high as 39.8% — so a clean-loss medical or condo account can still see a number that looks nothing like the 6.9% average.
Two Filings Worth a Closer Look
Allmerica/Hanover converts its legacy BOP book with double-digit liability
A companion Hanover filing folds the legacy BOP 'Avenues' product into its small-commercial program, adopting ISO loss costs with profitability-based class factors. Same playbook: a modest average masking class-specific liability jumps for medical, real estate and tech-manufacturing risks. Effective July 1.
Travelers re-tiers NJ packages: day spas +40%, laundromats +25%
Across an 8,251-policy NJ book, Travelers reallocates class factors — personal-care day spas +40%, laundromats +25%, med spas +10% — while cutting professional and financial services 25% to win that business. A +/-30% stabilization cap softens year one. Effective March 15.
The Rest of the Qualifying List
| State | Carrier | Line / Sub-type | Severity | Policyholders | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT | Various | Other Liability — CGL | 5 / 5 | 2,447 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| CT | Various | CMP — Commercial Package | 4 / 5 | 3,706 | Apr 13, 2026 |
Also on the radar
A wave of severity-3 CMP and GL increases just misses our impact bar but carries reach: a 3,785-policyholder MA general-liability hike (approved Feb 9) and several businessowners re-rates in the 1,500–3,000 range across NJ and MA. The common thread is liability, not property — carriers are correcting bodily-injury and social-inflation losses while holding property closer to flat.
The scoring trend kept building — and a black-box 'rating index' arrived that can double your premium.
Same region, the structural changes the rate number hides: scoring models, tier consolidations and coverage cuts approved in February. The standout is a new proprietary rating index that adjusts premium up to 100% on public-record data the insured never sees.
Industries in this page's filings
Lead Filing · Structural Signal
State Farm's new Customer Rating Index can swing a premium up to 100%
Approved March 6, effective January 2027. State Farm introduces a Massachusetts Customer Rating Index — a proprietary score built on 'publicly available reports' that can adjust premium by up to 100%, moving roughly 0.3% per index point. Policyholders don't review the data behind their own number.
The same filing adds a Cyber Suite at +16.4%, narrows D&O to exclude contract-breach liability, and excludes digital tokens (NFTs/crypto) and PFAS from property coverage. A single filing that re-prices and re-scopes at once.
New Scoring Models — The Trend Is Real
State Farm adds telematics — and a 15% surcharge — to a 19,132-policy Ohio book
State Farm launches Drive Safe & Save Business in Ohio: a 5% participation credit up front, but driving data can drive a surcharge up to 15%. A new Years-in-Business factor penalizes newer firms, and Hired/Non-Owned liability jumps 22.9%. Telematics is now a two-way street.
GEICO leans on a competitor's data — and its telematics terms widen
GEICO's ~15% Massachusetts physical-damage filing openly benchmarks Progressive because its own data is too volatile to stand alone (Comprehensive loss ratio 264%). New DriveEasy Pro terms allow driver data to be shared with third parties for research and used in litigation.
Berkshire GUARD consolidates tiers — most NorGUARD risks pay ~9% more
Berkshire Hathaway GUARD eliminates the NorGUARD non-standard tier in Connecticut, pushing most NorGUARD policyholders up ~8.7% under a single multiplier, while preferred risks routed to EastGUARD drop 14.3%. Where your client lands in the consolidation is the whole story.
Underwriting Guideline Changes
State Farm narrows D&O and adds catastrophe deductibles
Alongside the Customer Rating Index, State Farm revises D&O to exclude any liability for breach of oral or written contract — a real gap for professional offices sued on contract disputes — and introduces a mandatory Hurricane Duration Deductible for coastal property. Coverage scope is moving as fast as price.
ICW Group rewrites per-capita minimums for domestic classes
Beyond the 13.6% cumulative rate impact, ICW Group's PA filing introduces a $270 expense constant and new minimum-premium floors for domestic and per-capita class codes — raising the cost floor for households with staff regardless of loss history. Effective April 1.
Coverage Contraction
State Farm excludes crypto and PFAS from property
The MA package filing strips coverage for digital tokens (NFTs and cryptocurrency) and adds a Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) exclusion — two fast-emerging exposures removed in one stroke. Businesses holding digital assets or with any PFAS contact lose that protection at renewal.
CNA caps community-association discretion at +/-25%
CNA's Massachusetts community-association filing limits underwriter risk modification to +/-25% against a 30.9% indicated need, and penalizes larger associations (12% for 250+ units). Less negotiating room plus a tiered penalty means mid-to-large HOAs feel a structural increase. Effective December 1.
Travelers reallocates NJ class factors with a +/-30% cap
Travelers' NJ re-tiering hands day spas a 40% factor increase and laundromats 25% while crediting professional services 25% — a deliberate book reshaping. The +/-30% stabilization cap softens the first renewal but signals further moves for the penalized classes. Effective March 15.
Also on the radar
The scoring drumbeat continued in commercial auto: multiple Ohio and PA filings added or refreshed credit-and-tier models (State Farm DSSI telematics, GEICO benchmarking). On coverage, cyber, crypto and PFAS exclusions showed up across package programs — the same emerging exposures being pruned market-wide. The takeaway for renewals: the rate is only half the change; check what scope quietly left the policy.
