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 Tech
nology (ICT), WTW. “While Commercial Auto and Excess/Umbrella Liability continue to experienc
e 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.
A 14-month-long “ghost br
oker” investigation has concluded with the arrest of a man accused of procuring more than 1,120 auto insurance policies using fraudulent data and social media apps.
The Utah Insurance Department announced the arrest of Carlos David Garcia Gonzalez in Liberty Hills, Texas.
It is alleged that between January 2023 and January 2026, Garcia operated a large-scale “ghost broker” scheme in which he procured auto insurance policies by su
bmitting fraudulent data online to three different carriers on behalf of predominantly Hispanic victims residing in Utah.
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The actions of Garcia, who is not a licensed insurance agent, resulted in $832,000 in premium avoid
ance. While fraudulently writing the auto policies, Garcia charged his victims more $84,470 in payme
nts for obtaining the policies, according to the department.
The Utah Insurance Department previously issued two alerts regarding Garcia’s practices t
o warn consumers about purchasing auto policies with unconfirmed agents via WhatsApp or other social media type platforms.
Garcia is charged with two counts of 2nd degree felony pattern of unlawful activity, 2nd degree felony communications fraud, 2nd degree felony insurance fr
aud, 3rd degree felony forgery and 3rd degree felony identity fraud.
