The Pennsylvania Insurance Department blocked rate requests from property and casualty insurers totaling $227.9 million in additional premiums during 2025.
The figures, released as part of the department's annual review of rate filings, cap a year of heightened scrutiny on pricing from the state regulator.
The full-year total follows an active first half, when the department blocked $210.1 million in proposed P&C premium increases through June – a figure that had already exceeded the total amount of rejections recorded for all of 2024.
That mid-year intervention represented more than double the $98.3 million denied during the first half of the prior year.
The accelerated pace of rejections signaled a more muscular approach from regulators, with the department scrutinizing rate filings across multiple coverage lines.
Title insurance accounted for the largest portion of blocked increases at $103.6 million, while personal auto rate requests made up $91 million of the total. Homeowners and dwelling fire increases represented $16 million, with personal umbrella insurance contributing a further $11.2 million.
An additional $6.1 million in increases from other coverage types were rejected through the review process.
The personal auto figure reflects broader dynamics playing out across the country. For 2026, The Zebra projects the typical US driver will pay $2,256 on average in annual auto insurance premiums.
The pace of increases has moderated somewhat, with average auto insurance premiums rising 3% nationally from 2024 to 2025 – a marked slowdown compared with the 18% jump recorded the prior year.
Still, six states recorded increases exceeding 50% from 2024 to 2025: Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Georgia, Maryland, and Utah.
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys (pictured above) said the department evaluates thousands of filings annually. The process of identifying rate increases that do not meet regulatory standards requires ongoing review of documentation submitted by insurers, he noted.
Pennsylvania operates under a prior approval system for most insurance rate changes, meaning insurers must receive regulatory authorization before implementing new rates. The department's review considers factors including loss experience, expenses, and actuarial justification for proposed adjustments.
The blocked rate requests represent amounts that would have been charged to policyholders had the filings been approved. The department did not specify how many individual rate filings were rejected or modified during the review period.
