Rate barometer
Commercial Property Insurance Rates 2026: Rate Barometer
The short answer
Commercial property renewal rates fell 6.3% in Q2 2026, the fourth straight quarterly decline, per the CIAB survey. Liability is moving differently: general liability +2.6% (Q1 2026) and umbrella +5.3% (Q2 2026).
What moves commercial property, general liability, and umbrella and excess renewal rates, with the CIAB survey history since 2019. Rate data from ALRenewalIndex.
Get The Market, Made Clear by emailBy Dan Wentz, commercial real estate insurance broker · Updated
Renewal rate changes since 2019
Average premium change at renewal, by line, each quarter. Actual survey results, not a forecast.
-6.3%Softening Property
CIAB, Q2 2026
+2.6%Flat to modest General liability
CIAB, Q1 2026
+5.3%Firming Umbrella and excess
CIAB, Q2 2026
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- Property
- General liability
- Umbrella and excess
- No survey that quarter
Source: CIAB Commercial P&C Market Survey, via ALRenewalIndex. Gauges show each line's latest reading on a -10% to +20% scale. Dashed segments bridge quarters without a confirmed CIAB figure. General liability's latest confirmed survey is Q1 2026.
Show the data as a table
| Quarter | Property | General liability | Umbrella and excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -6.3% | n/a | +5.3% |
| Q1 2026 | -5.5% | +2.6% | +4.8% |
| Q4 2025 | -0.7% | n/a | +4.7% |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2% | +2.8% | +5.5% |
| Q2 2025 | +1.9% | +3.9% | +11.5% |
| Q1 2025 | +2.9% | +4.2% | +9.5% |
| Q4 2024 | +6.0% | +5.3% | +8.7% |
| Q3 2024 | +7.9% | +4.8% | +8.6% |
| Q2 2024 | +8.9% | +5.1% | +7.2% |
| Q1 2024 | +10.1% | n/a | +7.0% |
| Q4 2023 | +11.8% | +3.8% | +7.6% |
| Q3 2023 | +17.1% | +4.2% | +7.4% |
| Q2 2023 | +18.3% | +5.2% | +8.1% |
| Q1 2023 | +20.4% | +4.6% | +8.5% |
| Q4 2022 | +16.0% | +4.9% | +9.6% |
| Q3 2022 | +11.2% | +5.7% | +11.3% |
| Q2 2022 | +8.3% | +4.7% | +11.3% |
| Q1 2022 | +8.6% | +3.9% | +10.5% |
| Q4 2021 | +10.5% | +6.4% | +15.0% |
| Q3 2021 | +10.3% | +6.3% | +16.9% |
| Q2 2021 | +9.9% | +6.0% | +17.4% |
| Q1 2021 | +12.0% | +6.2% | +19.7% |
| Q4 2020 | +12.9% | n/a | +21.3% |
| Q3 2020 | +14.2% | n/a | +22.9% |
| Q2 2020 | +13.3% | +6.8% | +20.0% |
| Q1 2020 | +12.0% | n/a | +17.3% |
| Q4 2019 | +9.7% | +5.8% | +13.6% |
| Q3 2019 | +8.8% | +4.6% | +9.8% |
| Q2 2019 | +8.5% | +3.2% | +5.7% |
| Q1 2019 | +5.9% | +2.0% | +3.3% |
Commercial property rates in Q2 2026, by survey
All four surveys below show property rates falling. How far depends on who is counted: CIAB averages all account sizes, while Marsh and WTW lean toward large, layered programs, where the cuts have been deepest.
| Survey | What it measures | Property, Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CIAB Commercial P&C Market SurveyInsurance Journal, Aug 20, 2026 | Average premium change at renewal, all U.S. account sizes | -6.3% |
| The Baldwin Group, Q2 Market PulseBusiness Insurance, Jul 29, 2026 | U.S. commercial property pricing, fifth straight quarterly decline | -8.1% |
| Marsh Global Insurance Market IndexInsurance Journal, Jul 23, 2026 | U.S. property composite rate change, weighted to larger accounts | -13% |
| WTW Insurance Marketplace Realities, fall 2026Insurance Journal, Oct 5, 2026 | Large and complex property in WTW's North American portfolio | -14.5% |
What the spread means for commercial real estate
Marsh splits its U.S. number by account type. Catastrophe-exposed programs over $1 million in premium saw rates fall 20%. Non-catastrophe programs under $1 million fell 10%. A coastal portfolio placed in layers belongs in the first group. A single inland apartment community or strip center is closer to the CIAB and Baldwin averages.
None of these surveys reports habitational or real estate as its own line. Use them to read the direction of the market. They don't forecast your account. Your renewal still turns on your loss history, your values, and where the buildings are.
Where the rate numbers come from
The standard benchmark is the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) Commercial P&C Market Survey. Each quarter, brokers report the average premium change at renewal by line. It's a market average across all account sizes and industries, so a well-run CRE portfolio can renew well inside it, and a coastal or loss-heavy one well outside it.
ALRenewalIndex charts the CIAB rate changes for property, general liability, and umbrella and excess since 2019, alongside the catastrophe, construction, and claims series below.
What moves property rates
- Reinsurance cost
- Property carriers buy reinsurance for their catastrophe exposure. When cat bond spreads and reinsurance renewals tighten, primary property rates follow; when capital floods in, they ease.
- Catastrophe losses
- A year of heavy hurricane, wildfire, or convective storm losses drains carrier and reinsurer capital, and the next renewals pay for it.
- Construction costs
- Higher labor and materials costs raise replacement cost, so the same building needs a higher limit and more premium even at a flat rate.
- Hail and tornado activity
- Severe convective storms now run to tens of billions of dollars in insured losses most years, and they hit inland portfolios that used to price as low risk.
See the U.S. catastrophe loss history since 2017. For what construction costs do to your limits, read our replacement cost value guide.
What moves liability rates
- Jury verdicts
- Nuclear verdicts, awards over $10 million, push up what carriers expect to pay on every premises and auto claim, not just the ones that go to trial.
- Reserve development
- When carriers find their reserves for past years were too low, they add to them and raise rates on the business they write now.
- Medical inflation
- Bodily injury claims are mostly medical bills, so medical prices running ahead of general inflation raise general liability and umbrella costs.
See commercial claims trends by line for combined ratios, reserve development, and verdict counts. For how one open claim shows up at renewal, read our claims strategy guide.
Using the market read at your renewal
The market average tells you whether carriers are competing for business or walking away from it. Your own number depends on your loss history, valuations, location, and how the account is presented. To size a renewal against your loan covenants, see how premium increases hit DSCR, or estimate an apartment portfolio with the multifamily insurance calculator.
The Market, Made Clear
One email per quarter when the new CIAB survey lands, with what it means for commercial real estate renewals.
By Dan Wentz, commercial lines risk consultant at a large national insurance agency.
Sources
Rate and driver data: ALRenewalIndex, which compiles the CIAB Commercial P&C Market Survey, Munich Re NatCatSERVICE, Swiss Re Institute, NOAA Storm Prediction Center, BLS via FRED, and The Hartford and CNA SEC filings. ALRenewalIndex is also published by Dan Wentz.
Q2 2026 survey comparison: CIAB, The Baldwin Group, Marsh, and WTW, as reported in the trade press articles linked in the table.
Market-wide rate changes are survey averages, not a quote, rate indication, or coverage recommendation. Actual renewal outcomes depend on your own loss history, exposures, and underwriting, and can differ from the market-wide trend described here.
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