U.S. commercial insurance rates increased 2.5% in the first quarter 2026, according to the latest WTW Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS).
“The first quarter results reflect a continuation of the moderating pricing environment observed over recent quarters,” said Yi Jing, managing director, Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT), WTW. “While Commercial Auto and Excess/Umbrella Liability continue to experience the largest increases, the pace of those increases has eased, with pricing trends across much of the market remaining stable.”
According to prior results, Q1 was the third consecutive quarter of moderating rate increases. Rates increased 2.9% in Q4 2025 and nearly 3.3% for Q3 2025.
The survey compared price changes on policies underwritten in Q1 2026 with policies with the same coverage in Q1 2025.
According to the survey, moderate to significant price increases were seen in Q1 in all commercial lines except workers compensation, directors & officers, property, and cyber. Commercial auto rate increases fell below double digits for the first time since the Q3 2023.
Excess/umbrella liability remained the line with the largest price increases though lower than the prior quarter.
A New York state appellate court has rejected Wayne LaPierre’s appeal of the monetary judgment and injunction levied against him after a state jury in 2024 found that he violated his fiduciary duties in his role as an officer of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
One June 2, the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court, upheld both a jury order requiring him to repay $4.3 million in damages to the NRA and a court order prohibiting him from holding any fiduciary position as an officer or director of the NRA or any NRA entity for 10 years.
LaPierre, the former executive vice president of the NRA, had argued in his appeal that the jury could not order him to pay monetary damages as part of the law requiring him to “account for” his conduct; rather he could only be required to explain his conduct. But the appellate court disagreed. The court said LaPierre misconstrued the scope and language of the statute and that the phrase “account for” is not so limited, as it also encompasses a “reckoning of funds and holding the violating officer responsible for the harm caused.” Thus, the court upheld the judgment that he repay $4.3 million of the total $5.4 million in harm he caused to the NRA, as he had already paid back about $1.1 million.
