Commercial auto carries the Northeast again — and New Jersey's market of last resort takes the hardest hit.
No workers comp rate increase cleared the screen this month. Commercial auto did the moving: New Jersey's assigned-risk plan, a big State Farm book in the same state, and Pennsylvania and Delaware filings that mostly landed below their own indications.
Industries in this issue's filings
Also Approved This Cycle
State Farm adds 10.2% to NJ commercial auto — its second hike of 2026
The region's largest auto book this cycle, on top of a 24.9% increase in March. Liability carries the load: bodily injury and property damage +13.7%, uninsured motorist +23.2%, employers' non-owned liability +19.4%. Physical damage drops about 15%.
Donegal files +5% on PA commercial auto — the indication says 29%
A big book that already took 8.4% in May. New factors for driver violations, prior claims and driver-age mix, plus a new tier layer, mean clean fleets barely move while fleets with MVR problems feel far more than 5%.
The Hartford's Navigators lifts PA large-fleet auto 18.5%, some accounts up 74.7%
At roughly $302K a policy, these are big fleets: dealers, passenger carriers, waste haulers and repair shops. Fleets under 10 units take a 1.20 factor. The Hartford also filed +9% to +10% across three Delaware companies (indicated ~24%) and +9% in Maine.
Penn National files +9.7% on DE commercial auto and dealers, with 27.4% indicated
Policyholders average +12.5%, topping out near 16.6%. Dealers and repair shops get restructured garagekeepers limits and new wind-and-hail deductibles; every account picks up communicable-disease and PFAS exclusions.
Why no workers comp?
No Northeast comp filing carried a rate increase this cycle; the comp filings that landed were new programs and re-tiering. That can still raise a renewal: ICW's Maryland tier tightening pushes about 8.8% of its book up despite a bureau loss-cost cut (page 3). Smaller auto books moved too: National Indemnity +11% in Delaware, Starr +7.4% in Maryland, United Ohio +5% in Rhode Island.
General liability is where the pressure landed — and contractors and medical offices are paying first.
Same screen, every other commercial line. Liability dominates: Hanover's small-commercial GL in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Nationwide's New York umbrella, and Spinnaker's contractor program. Almost every filing sits below its own indication, so these numbers read as floors.
Industries in this issue's filings
Three Filings Worth a Closer Look
Nationwide lifts NY commercial umbrella 22.4% — human services hit hardest
The first real increase on this book since 2022. Human-services professional and abuse charges rise from 15% to 25%, and liquor-exposed restaurants and hotels take 35–37% higher excess rates. Indicated: 37.7%.
Farm Family takes PA farm package up 9.7%, with liability base rates +38%
A second full-indication increase after last year's 16.5%. Farm liability base rates rise 38%, new roof-age and building-count factors strip out old discounts, and an 18% smart-sensor fire credit goes away.
Spinnaker files +15.5% on MA contractor GL — wholesale-placed accounts up to +105%
Indicated 55.4%. The wholesaler channel factor jumps from 1.10 to 1.925 with no renewal cap, so most wholesale-placed accounts take +40% to +105%. The same program filed +19.6% in DC and +3% in NJ.
The Rest of the Qualifying List
| State | Carrier | Line / Change | Severity | Policyholders | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA | The Hanover | General Liability · +17.7% | 4 / 5 | 3,985 | Jun 1, 2027 |
| MA | Munich Re (Am. Family Home) | Public Entity Package · +21.9% | 4 / 5 | 16 | Jul 1, 2027 |
| DC | Munich Re (Am. Family Home) | Public Entity Package · +18.7% | 4 / 5 | 28 | Jul 1, 2027 |
| PA | Illinois Casualty | Businessowners · +4.0% | 3 / 5 | 252 | Nov 1, 2026 |
Also on the radar
The indication gaps are the story. Munich Re's public-entity program filed +21.9% in MA (indicated 67.4%), +18.7% in DC (73.9%) and +25% on Maine EPL (111.3%) — schools and towns should expect more. Utica's PA GL moved 0.9% against 23.3% indicated on a $58.3M book (page 3). Going the other way: Co-operative's VT businessowners slips 0.8% on 5,685 policyholders, though about 600 see increases above 25%.
Coverage is shrinking in quieter ways — valuation downgrades, abuse-coverage repricing and two program exits.
Same region, the structural story: a valuation downgrade in the region's biggest package book, abuse-coverage repricing, comp re-tiering and two program exits.
Industries in this page's filings
Market Exits
SiriusPoint closes its PA connected non-fleet trucking program
The telematics program for small motor carriers non-renews at expiration from Nov 17, six months after a 17% rate increase. Non-fleet trucking capacity priced on telematics is thin.
Markel withdraws its NY farm package — the whole book non-renews
All 40 New York policyholders in the program are being non-renewed through 2026. Confirm each farm has a landing spot before expiration.
Abuse & Molestation Repricing
Comp Re-Tiering
Also Filed This Cycle
Also on the radar
Scoring keeps spreading: EMC's new CT BOP loads commercial-credit blemishes up to a 1.59 liability factor, and Federated's Maine BOP adds about 24% for liens or judgments. Sentry filed a trucker exclusion in five states for motor carriers that broker freight. The Hartford's new named-driver exclusion in DE and ME strips physical damage when the excluded driver drives. Also: Hanover lifts DC human-services abuse rates about 55%, and First Financial drops wind and hail for CT dealers near the coast.
