RateWatch
Short, timely reads on where commercial-insurance rates are moving and why — each traced to a real regulator filing or NAIC report, not estimates. For the full deep-dive studies, see GBC Data Studies.
Sources: NCCI & independent-bureau advisory loss-cost filings · NAIC Report on Profitability by Line by State · state Departments of Insurance.
Which commercial insurance lines lost money in 2023? Loss ratios by line
In 2023, commercial auto ran the worst loss ratio of the major commercial lines (74.4%), while workers' comp and inland marine were the most profitable for insurers (~45%).
Not all commercial insurance lines are equally profitable — and the gap drives which lines see rate increases. In 2023 (NAIC), loss ratios across the major commercial lines ranged widely: commercial auto ran the worst at 74.4%, then commercial multiple peril (BOP) 62.6%, general liability 60.2%, medical professional liability 57.6%, product liability 49.3%, commercial property 46.0%, workers' comp 45.1%, and inland marine 45.0% — the most profitable. A higher loss ratio means insurers pay out more per premium dollar, which is the pressure behind rate increases; see the state-by-state detail on our market profitability pages.
General liability is the biggest commercial insurance line — about $94B a year
U.S. commercial general-liability insurers wrote about $94 billion in premiums in 2023 — the largest of the major commercial lines — yet loss ratios swing from roughly 30% to over 100% depending on the state.
General liability is the coverage almost every business carries, and it's the biggest commercial line in the country: about $94 billion in premiums in 2023 (NAIC). But the profitability behind those rates varies enormously — GL loss ratios run from roughly 30% in the best states to over 100% in the worst, which is exactly why a GL policy can cost very different amounts depending on where you operate. See the full state-by-state breakdown in our General Liability Loss Ratios by State study.
Roofing workers' comp advisory loss costs vary ~3.5× across states
Roofing's advisory workers'-comp loss cost (NCCI 5551) runs from $2.91 per $100 of payroll in Indiana to $10.14 in Missouri — a ~3.5× spread across advisory-rate states, before any carrier applies its own multiplier.
Where a roofing crew operates changes its workers'-comp cost dramatically. Across the states that publish an advisory loss cost for roofing (NCCI class 5551, same rate basis), it runs from $2.91/$100 of payroll in Indiana to $5.40 in Colorado, $5.75 in Oregon, $6.84 in North Carolina, and $10.14 in Missouri — a ~3.5× spread, all before a carrier applies its own loss-cost multiplier (typically 1.20–1.50).
Two administered-rate states run higher still — Wisconsin $13.18 and New Jersey $25.33 — but those are already-final manual rates (expense and profit included, no carrier multiplier), a different basis that isn't directly comparable to advisory loss costs. The takeaway: the same roofing payroll can cost several times more in comp depending purely on which state's rating system sets the rate.
Roofing workers' comp costs ~108× a desk job — Colorado's 2026 filing
Roofing (NCCI 5551) carries an advisory loss cost of $5.40 per $100 of payroll vs $0.05 for clerical (NCCI 8810) in Colorado's 2026 filing — a ~108× spread.
The single biggest driver of a workers'-comp premium is the NCCI class code, and the spread is enormous. In Colorado's 2026 NCCI advisory-loss-cost filing, roofing (class 5551) is $5.40 per $100 of payroll while clerical office work (class 8810) is $0.05 — about a 108× difference for the same coverage. Carriers then apply their own loss-cost multiplier, and administered states run higher (New Jersey's 2026 roofing rate reaches $25.33/$100). The takeaway: your class code, not your carrier, is the first thing that sets your WC cost.
Commercial-auto insurers lost money on underwriting in 2023
Commercial auto ran the worst loss ratio of the major commercial lines in 2023 (~74%) and lost money on underwriting — the pressure behind rising commercial-auto rates.
Per the NAIC's 2023 Report on Profitability by Line by State, commercial auto ran roughly a 74% loss ratio and posted an underwriting loss — the worst of the major commercial lines. That's the structural pressure behind the commercial-auto rate increases showing up in filings: when a line loses money on underwriting nationally, carriers file for rate. If you run vehicles, expect commercial-auto to be the line most likely to see increases at renewal.