US commercial insurance pricing held at a year-over-year increase of 3.8% in the third quarter of 2025, according to WTW’s latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS).
The figure matches the 3.8% rise reported in Q2 2025 and extends the easing trend from 5.3% in Q1 2025.
The CLIPS study compares premiums for policies written during the quarter with those for the same lines a year earlier, providing a year-on-year view of rate movement. Carriers reported an aggregate 3.8% price increase in Q3 2025, down from a 6.1% rise in Q3 2024, indicating a further moderation in average commercial rate changes.
WTW’s results show that price growth continued to soften across most major commercial lines. Workers compensation, directors’ and officers’ liability, cyber and commercial property all recorded price decreases during the quarter, pointing to easing conditions in several segments.
Separate data from the November 2025 Ivans Index suggest that this moderation is playing out unevenly across lines, with commercial auto, business owner’s policies (BOP), general liability, commercial property and umbrella still seeing year-over-year increases in average premium renewal rates, while workers’ compensation remains in negative territory.
Month-on-month, Ivans reported mixed movements, with general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation posting slight upticks in renewal rate change and commercial auto, BOP and umbrella showing modest declines, indicating more granular, line-by-line recalibration rather than a broad swing in market conditions.
“US commercial insurance rates held steady in the third quarter of 2025, continuing the gradual easing we’ve seen over the past two quarters,” said Yi Jing (pictured above), senior director, Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT) at WTW.
Excess/umbrella liability remained the line with the highest rate of price increases in the WTW survey. However, WTW said the pace of increase in this segment has eased compared with earlier quarters, signaling some cooling after previous periods of stronger rate hardening.
Commercial auto, by contrast, continued to post double-digit rate gains and remained one of the fastest-rising segments. Market participants link that trend to ongoing pressures around claims severity, repair costs and legal activity that continue to weigh on auto profitability.
The Ivans Index also notes the combined data depict a market where insurers are selectively adjusting pricing by line, pushing increases in higher-risk or high-loss segments while applying more targeted or even negative movements in areas such as workers compensation.
Rate changes in the WTW survey also varied by account size. Small and mid-market accounts saw more modest increases than in previous periods, while large account pricing continued to climb but at a slower rate, consistent with a broader trend toward market stabilization.
Jing noted that “while some coverage lines experienced modest increases, others remained flat,” describing the overall environment as one of more measured pricing across the market.
