Commercial auto carried the Midwest in October — and public fleets, paratransit and brand-new businesses took the steepest hits.
Workers comp went the other way: every comp filing that moved rate this cycle moved it down. Commercial auto posted double-digit averages in Ohio, Indiana and Colorado, nearly all below the carriers' own indicated need — and the averages hide where the money moves: specific classes, new ventures and poor risk-score tiers.
Industries in this issue's filings
Also Filed This Cycle
Pekin raises Indiana business auto 11.3% — and adds a 20% surcharge for new businesses
Liability drives the move on this 2,203-policyholder, $22.6M book (indicated 13.3%): its indication ran +17.5% versus +7.0% for physical damage. A new years-in-business factor charges firms under a year old 20% more and doesn't reach neutral until year six, and the worst risk-score tier pays 40%. Pekin's Wisconsin filing takes 8.8% on 1,701 policyholders with the same new-venture factor. Move now: flag every start-up fleet renewing January 1.
AIG takes 39% on Colorado public-entity auto — police fleets face +64%
National Union's Colorado program for public entities and nonprofits takes 39% against a 57.5% need after loss ratios ran 72–115% since 2021. Manual rates jump hardest for law-enforcement fleets (+64%), ambulances (+55%), school buses (+41%) and fire departments (+35%), and hospice and home-health non-owned auto rises 17%. Move now: municipal and EMS budgets need the new number, not last year's.
MS Transverse raises its Wisconsin trucking program 15% — half its 30.6% need
The Fleet Safety Trucking Program covers just eight Wisconsin motor carriers, but they're big — $2.3M in premium, roughly $285K an account. Every account takes the same 15%, on top of +14.5% last December, and the carrier's own indication was double that. Who feels it: mid-size for-hire fleets in the program. Move now: a second mid-teens increase with half the need still unfiled is a remarketing signal.
American National adds 13.9% to Kansas business auto after +32% last year
A small book — 106 policyholders, $0.39M — on a steep climb: the average is up about 50% across two filings. Comprehensive ran a 115.6% loss ratio and rises about 20%; private-passenger-type vehicles average +19.9%, with liability up 25%; mixed truck-and-car fleets with full physical damage hit the 22.5% cap. Move now: Kansas small fleets on this paper are worth a fresh quote.
Why no workers comp story this month?
Every Midwest / Central comp filing that moved rate in October moved it down. Fremont cut Michigan comp 3.1% on 3,872 policyholders (indicated −27.6%), with pool-construction and carpentry classes down 60–72%. Crum & Forster's Michigan filing averages −8.7%, though its non-standard company still takes 13–14%. The one change that bites: Eastern Advantage (Doctors Co.) in Indiana lifts minimum premiums on roofing, tree trimming, logging and steel erection from a $600 cap to state minimums up to $1,500.
Package and umbrella led the Midwest's wider market in October — and nearly every filing came in under its own indication.
Same screen, every other commercial line. The biggest book was a Colorado package program on its fourth straight increase. The sharpest moves were in umbrella, where State Farm, West Bend and Auto-Owners all raised excess-layer pricing. Most filed well below their indicated need, so treat this year's number as a floor.
Industries in this issue's filings
Three Filings Worth a Closer Look
State Farm raises Colorado commercial umbrella 30% — its first change since 2013
After more than a decade flat, State Farm takes 30% (indicated 40.2%) as the loss ratio jumped to 69% in 2024. Base premiums rise 58% for contractors and 77% for the catch-all class group, and charges for the $2M–$4M layers climb about 40%. Outliers reach +104%. Move now: re-quote higher-limit umbrellas on contractors first.
West Bend lifts Wisconsin umbrella 6.3% — with matching filings in IN and TN
On its largest umbrella book, West Bend takes 6.3% against a 16.5% indication, capped at +10% an account. Owner-operator vehicle charges rise 10%, and select programs like health clubs, campgrounds and tree care see about 10% factor bumps. Indiana (2,019 policyholders) and Tennessee (1,389) got the same filing. The coverage cuts that came with it lead page 3. Move now: the gap to indication says more is coming.
Spinnaker raises Kentucky BOP 8.8% — 59 small businesses take 30%-plus
Spinnaker's Coterie BOP program leans on a fire-risk score (top tier rated about 3.7x the lowest) and a 13.5% debit for skipping loss-control inspections; 59 accounts rise more than 30%, averaging +$1,320. Indiana's sister filing takes 3.2% on 1,050 policyholders but adds delivery, uninsured-subcontractor, dock and liquor assault-and-battery exclusions. Who feels it: restaurants and contractors. Move now: read the endorsements, not just the rate.
The Rest of the Qualifying List
| State | Carrier | Line / Sub-type | Severity | Policyholders | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ND | Auto-Owners | Commercial & Farm Umbrella · +10.3% | 4 / 5 | 1,497 | Nov 14, 2026 |
| KY | West Bend | General Liability · +3.8% (ind. 16.0%) | 3 / 5 | 3,385 | Feb 1, 2027 |
| KY | American Family Home (American Modern) | Public Entity Package · +18.4% | 4 / 5 | 14 | Jul 1, 2027 |
| KS | Hartford Steam Boiler | Cyber · +8.9% (also ND, SD) | 3 / 5 | 28 | Jan 1, 2027 |
Also on the radar
Auto-Owners' North Dakota commercial and farm umbrella (table, above) is on its third straight double-digit filing — +27.8%, +25.0% and now +10.3% — with tractor-trailer units and RVs repriced and mature-operator discounts cut. In Kentucky, a public-entity package program took 18.4% against a 66.5% need, with college dorm and school day-care exposure rates up 160%. And Hartford Steam Boiler's cyber filings in Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota each took roughly 9% against a 24% indication: small books, but a consistent signal on small-business cyber pricing.
October's biggest coverage story filed at 0%: West Bend rewrote what it will cover on new residential construction — in six states.
Same region, the filings whose story isn't the rate line: new exclusions for residential contractors and stone-cutting trades, scoring rebuilds that reshuffle premium at flat averages, and another round of exits. A 0% filing can still take coverage away. Read the forms.
Industries in this page's filings
Scoring & Tiering Rebuilds
Federated brings its 0% roof-and-credit BOP rebuild to Kansas — swings up to +64%
The GLM rebuild we tracked across five states in September has reached Kansas, revenue-neutral overall just months after a 9.3% June increase. Underneath, aerial roof scores add 22–36% property surcharges to older roofs, liens and judgments trigger a 21.4% liability debit, and prior claims add 25% to 85%. Jewelry and convenience stores sit at the top of the swing range. Move now: pull the roof and claims picture before December 1 renewals.
Next Insurance re-tiers 7,527 Wisconsin GL policies at 0% — minimum premiums up to triple
Flat overall, but Next's new tier map lifts minimum premiums for nurses and home-health aides from $100 to $300, and for massage therapists and acupuncturists from $200 to $500. Property managers and catch-all professional classes move into new tiers, and grocery and convenience subclasses get reset after countrywide loss-and-expense ratios of 241%. Who feels it: one-person service businesses on minimum premiums. Move now: warn small accounts before April 16.
Carriers Heading for the Exit
Coverage Contraction
Also Filed This Cycle
Also on the radar
The scoring wave runs wider than the cards above: State Farm's Kansas commercial auto filed +0.8% overall on 17,922 policyholders but pushed refrigerated farm haulers up as much as 60% and hired-car liability base rates up 27%. On forms, Travelers' Tennessee cyber and D&O rewrite debits accounts without multi-factor authentication by up to 60%, and Liberty Mutual restricted PFAS, BPA and phthalate exposures for Oklahoma plastics and chemical risks. On capacity, Farmers' BOP360 opened in Kansas and Colorado with credit-based habitational pricing.
