Workers comp woke up in Nevada — and Texas commercial auto kept climbing.
Six approved increases cleared our screen this cycle: high-impact, rate-increase filings touching 1,000+ policyholders each (or moving an entire state's loss costs), approved in February 2026. Nevada's bureau just reset the workers comp floor by 21.6%, and three separate Texas auto carriers pushed through 19–25% hikes. Here's what your clients are about to feel.
Industries in this issue's filings
Lead Filing
NCCI resets Nevada workers comp +21.6% — and excavation codes jump 44%
Approved February 9, effective March 1. This is the filing that resets the floor for every workers comp carrier in Nevada: NCCI's voluntary loss costs rise 21.6% statewide across a $470.8M book. The bureau cites deteriorated 2021–2023 accident years — unusual large-loss activity in construction and a sustained frequency climb in leisure and hospitality — amplified by Nevada's unique $36,000 payroll cap, which limits premium but not benefit growth. The class-level numbers are brutal: rock excavation (1699) +44%, fibergoods +44%, paint manufacturing +42.5%, excavation and welding +40%.
Who feels it: every Nevada employer at renewal, but excavation, drilling, oil-and-gas pipeline and hospitality classes worst. Move now: loss costs are the floor — carriers layer their LCM on top, so a clean experience mod is the only lever left. Get mods reviewed before March 1.
Also Approved This Cycle
Travelers hikes Texas small-business auto ~19.5%
The region's largest auto book this cycle — 8,843 policyholders, $234.8M premium. A company deviation-factor revision pushes small-business commercial auto up about 19.5%, with contractor work-truck fleets nearer 22%. Travelers cites post-pandemic liability stabilization and rising loss trends; no coverage cut, just rate.
Sentry takes 24.6% and starts pulling Carfax on your fleet
Sentry (Middlesex) lands a 24.6% average and rolls out a predictive Scorecard that integrates Carfax mileage and ownership-duration data — high-mileage fleets see up to ~25%. New 'basket aggregate' deductibles let one aggregate deductible span Auto and GL; auto-dealer operations re-rate sharply.
W.R. Berkley scores credit and business age into auto rates
Continental Western (W.R. Berkley) takes 20.9% against a 50.6% indicated need and makes Experian Intelliscore Plus and years-in-business primary pricing drivers. Newer businesses and credit-thin operators are penalized; garage and repair-shop risks see the steepest swings.
Liberty Mutual layers 18% on top of the new NCCI floor
Liberty Mutual adopts the same March 2026 NCCI loss costs and adds company LCM increases for an ~18% average — Ohio Casualty +23.6%, West American +21.0%. Railroad track-laying and maintenance contractors (codes 6702–6704) face base-rate multipliers over 1.6x. A clean illustration of loss-cost-plus-LCM stacking.
Why workers comp leads this month
Unlike most cycles, WC is the headline — because the Nevada bureau moved the whole market at once. When NCCI lifts loss costs 21.6%, every carrier's filing rebases off the higher floor, so the Liberty Mutual and Amerisure increases you see here are the first wave, not the last. Texas and California WC stayed comparatively soft on the carrier side; the action is squarely in Nevada this month.
Management liability and umbrella books are catching up — and the catch-up is steep.
Same screen, every other commercial line: this cycle the heavy moves are in non-profit management liability, personal umbrella, and specialty businessowners programs. The common thread is years of suppressed pricing meeting today's loss ratios — several books are correcting 50% or more in a single filing.
Industries in this issue's filings
Lead Filing
USLI hits California non-profits with a 56% management-liability jump — and a PFAS exclusion
Approved February 20, effective May 1. United States Liability's non-profit D&O/EPL program — 6,463 California policyholders, $10.2M premium — takes a 56% average increase, with 175 organizations seeing 50%+ and a maximum near 137%. Employment Practices Liability losses drive it: mandatory EPL retentions jump by employee band (a 351–500 employee non-profit moves from $10k to $100k), and a new 1.39 territory factor adds a 39% surcharge across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento and Ventura counties. A mandatory PFAS exclusion now attaches to every coverage part.
Who feels it: non-profits with 11+ employees in Southern California, especially those where EPL is a big share of premium. Move now: the retention jump is the silent hit — a client expecting a $10k retention may now self-insure the first $100k. Re-quote before May.
Three Filings Worth a Closer Look
AmTrust's Colorado BOP rebuilds on a 250-tier algorithm
AmTrust moves to a 250-band Risk Assessment system (indicated need 60.3%) benchmarked against Travelers and Hartford. Wesco averages +58.3%, Security National +123%, and individual renewals can reach 460% depending on band. Liquor-liability rates for taverns and restaurants nearly double — the program was underpriced and is correcting hard.
American Family's Nevada umbrella resets +50%
On a 193.3% five-year loss ratio, American Family takes 50% (against a 117.5% indicated need it chose to phase in). Youthful-driver flat charges jump from $415 to $623, additional-vehicle charges from $142 to $213, and the casualty risk modifier's 150% adjustment is clarified for major/minor violations and SR22s.
TDIC doubles the minimum premium for small dental practices
The Dentists Insurance Company resets BOP pricing 18.7% and doubles the minimum premium from $500 to $1,000 — a 100% jump that lands entirely on the smallest practices. The closed-end water-unit discount is eliminated and equipment-breakdown rates rise. A new gross-income question signals tighter underwriting ahead.
The Rest of the Qualifying List
| State | Carrier | Line / Sub-type | Severity | Policyholders | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | Farmers (Truck Ins Exchange) | Personal Umbrella & Excess | 3 / 5 | 105,162 | May 16, 2026 |
Also on the radar
The biggest umbrella book in the region this cycle just missed the rate bar but reshapes coverage: Farmers (Truck Insurance Exchange) is dropping UM/UIM as an option across 105,162 California umbrella policies and now requires 100/300 underlying auto limits maintained for six months to qualify — it's on Page 3. And GuideOne exited California's auto-repossession market entirely, the carrier's second California program withdrawal in as many months.
Algorithms and exclusions did the heavy lifting this month — from 250-band rating to vanishing UM coverage.
Same region, the changes behind the rate number: approved February actions whose real story is a new scoring engine, a coverage exclusion, or a market exit. Two patterns stand out — carriers are replacing simple tier tables with hundred-band predictive models, and they're quietly stripping coverage (UM/UIM, PFAS) at the same time they raise rates.
Industries in this page's filings
Lead Filing · Scoring Model — Market-Wide Signal
AmTrust replaces tier tables with a 250-band rating engine in Colorado
Approved February 5, effective December 1. AmTrust rebuilds its Colorado businessowners program around a 250-tier Risk Assessment Band system — the same hundred-band approach spreading across the package market — with RAB factors reaching 12.495. The model is explicitly benchmarked against Travelers and Hartford, and the carrier admits it was previously underpriced: the indicated need is 60.3%. Wesco policyholders average +58.3%, Security National +123%, and an unlucky band assignment can push an individual renewal to 460%. Liquor-liability factors for taverns and restaurants nearly double, with new tornado (9.9%) and winter-storm catastrophe loads stacked on top.
Who feels it: Colorado restaurants, taverns and clubs, plus any small-business risk in the Wesco or Security National paper. Move now: band assignment is the whole game — ask the carrier which RAB a client landed in and why, then shop anyone in a high band.
New Scoring Models — The Trend Is Real
Sentry rates your trucks on Carfax history
Sentry's revised predictive Scorecard (also on Page 1 for its 24.6% rate) integrates Carfax vehicle-history data — annual mileage and ownership duration — so high-mileage fleets pay up to ~25% more per vehicle. New 'basket aggregate' deductibles let a single aggregate span Business Auto Liability and General Liability, changing how claims erode a client's deductible.
W.R. Berkley makes credit + business age primary drivers
Continental Western (also Page 1, 20.9%) elevates Experian Intelliscore Plus V2 and years-in-business to primary rating variables for Texas commercial auto. New ventures under three years and credit-thin operators are penalized hardest, and the garage/dealer segment gets a dedicated loss-cost-multiplier correction.
Coverage Contraction & Market Exits
Farmers drops UM/UIM from 105,162 umbrella policies
Truck Insurance Exchange (Farmers) removes UM/UIM as an option for both new and existing personal umbrella policies and now requires the named insured to have carried 100/300 underlying auto limits for six months to qualify. Policies out of force more than 30 days lose eligibility. A massive, quiet contraction of excess UM protection across California.
USLI adds a PFAS exclusion and triples EPL retentions
Behind USLI's 56% non-profit rate (Page 2) sits the real coverage story: a mandatory PFAS 'forever chemicals' exclusion across D&O, EPL and Fiduciary in exchange for a 1% credit, plus EPL standard retentions that leap by employee band — a mid-size non-profit's first-dollar EPL exposure can jump from $10k to $100k.
GuideOne exits California auto-repossession entirely
GuideOne withdrew its California Auto Repossession program, citing an inability to reach geographic scale; all policies were non-renewed or expired by July 2025. Repo and towing operations with repo exposure are pushed toward surplus lines — the carrier's second California program exit in consecutive months.
Also on the radar
The hundred-band rating pattern isn't isolated to AmTrust — it echoes the scoring wave from January's issue (Berkshire's LexisNexis credit model, Northland's commodity factor). Expect more carriers to replace simple tier tables with predictive bands that are harder to predict at quote and harder to contest at renewal. When the model is the rate, the only defense is knowing which band your client landed in.
