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General Liability Insurance Loss Ratios by State: 2026

General liability is the largest commercial insurance line — $94.1B in 2023 premium. Nationally it runs a 60.2% loss ratio and a -0.3% underwriting loss — but loss ratios range from 29.5% in MT to 104.1% in NM, which is why GL rates vary so much by where you operate.

National loss ratio (2023)
60.2%
Claims paid per $100 of premium (before insurer expenses)
Underwriting profit
-0.3%
Negative = insurers lost money on the line
Premiums earned (2023)
$94.1B
51 states ranked below

Source: NAIC 2023 Report on Profitability by Line by State (public regulator data). Loss ratio = incurred losses ÷ premiums earned; a higher loss ratio (and lower underwriting profit) means the line is less profitable for carriers in that state, which tends to push rates up.

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General liability loss ratio by state — worst first

Click a column heading to re-sort.

# State Loss ratio Premiums earned Underwriting profit
1 NM 104.1% $389.0M -47.7%
2 DE 103.1% $729.7M -40.7%
3 RI 86.1% $393.9M -28.3%
4 TX 77.2% $9.8B -18.4%
5 SC 75.7% $1.0B -19.5%
6 AR 74.3% $711.0M -7.0%
7 NV 71.1% $906.6M -5.8%
8 CO 69.9% $2.3B -10.1%
9 LA 68.7% $1.4B -11.4%
10 NJ 67.9% $4.0B -9.4%
11 GA 67.7% $3.1B -7.9%
12 PA 67.6% $4.3B -7.7%
13 CA 67.0% $15.7B -10.5%
14 NY 66.3% $13.1B -8.5%
15 FL 66.2% $7.4B -12.5%
16 CT 65.8% $1.7B -6.1%
17 KS 65.8% $721.9M -4.8%
18 NE 65.5% $557.0M 0.2%
19 MO 65.2% $1.7B -3.2%
20 VT 64.0% $158.7M -4.1%
21 WV 64.0% $277.0M 1.2%
22 IL 63.2% $5.6B -1.0%
23 WA 62.8% $2.2B -2.5%
24 AZ 62.1% $1.8B 0.4%
25 IA 61.7% $927.9M 1.8%
26 TN 61.5% $1.8B 1.0%
27 OR 61.4% $1.0B -2.2%
28 AL 61.1% $1.1B -2.6%
29 OK 58.7% $871.7M 4.2%
30 MS 58.4% $503.5M 3.9%
31 ND 55.4% $260.6M 9.6%
32 KY 55.0% $764.6M 7.0%
33 MN 54.9% $1.8B 9.0%
34 HI 54.7% $444.9M 3.1%
35 NH 54.0% $326.3M 1.4%
36 IN 53.4% $1.5B 10.6%
37 NC 52.5% $2.3B 11.9%
38 WI 52.3% $1.6B 13.3%
39 OH 51.5% $2.6B 13.1%
40 ID 51.2% $396.3M 12.2%
41 MD 51.1% $1.7B 12.7%
42 SD 50.5% $204.3M 11.8%
43 UT 49.2% $928.3M 12.7%
44 ME 46.9% $273.8M 15.8%
45 MA 46.3% $3.4B 16.1%
46 AK 44.8% $211.4M 15.6%
47 MI 43.1% $2.1B 9.6%
48 VA 42.6% $2.3B 24.2%
49 WY 40.7% $190.6M 15.2%
50 DC 39.7% $721.0M 19.4%
51 MT 29.5% $313.0M 31.1%
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Loss ratio by state — charted

NM104.1%DE103.1%RI86.1%TX77.2%SC75.7%AR74.3%NV71.1%CO69.9%LA68.7%NJ67.9%GA67.7%PA67.6%CA67.0%NY66.3%FL66.2%CT65.8%KS65.8%NE65.5%MO65.2%VT64.0%WV64.0%IL63.2%WA62.8%AZ62.1%IA61.7%TN61.5%OR61.4%AL61.1%OK58.7%MS58.4%ND55.4%KY55.0%MN54.9%HI54.7%NH54.0%IN53.4%NC52.5%WI52.3%OH51.5%ID51.2%MD51.1%SD50.5%UT49.2%ME46.9%MA46.3%AK44.8%MI43.1%VA42.6%WY40.7%DC39.7%MT29.5%
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How general liability compares to other commercial lines

National 2023 loss ratio by line — general liability highlighted. Higher = less profitable for carriers.

Commercial lineNational loss ratio (2023)
Commercial Auto 74.4%
Commercial Multiple Peril 62.6%
Commercial General Liability ← this study 60.2%
Medical Professional Liability 57.6%
Product Liability 49.3%
Commercial Property 46.0%
Workers Compensation 45.1%
Inland Marine 45.0%

Frequently asked questions

What is a loss ratio?
A loss ratio is incurred losses divided by premiums earned. A 60% loss ratio means insurers paid about $60 in claims for every $100 of general-liability premium — before their own expenses. Lower loss ratios mean the line is more profitable for carriers.
Why do general-liability rates vary so much by state?
GL claims are driven by local litigation climate, jury-verdict trends, medical costs, and how much business activity (and exposure) a state has. Those differ enormously by state, so the same coverage can carry very different loss ratios — and rates — depending on where you operate.
Is general liability profitable for insurers?
GL is the largest commercial line by premium and runs close to breakeven on underwriting nationally — but profitability swings widely by state. Low-loss-ratio states (well under 60%) are solidly profitable, while high-loss-ratio states can be deeply unprofitable, which is what pushes rates up there.
Are these numbers a quote?
No. These are aggregate NAIC industry results (loss ratio, premiums earned, underwriting profit) by state — not a quote. For your business's actual GL rate, compare quotes across carriers.
⬇ Download the data (CSV)
Cite this study
Get Business Coverage. (2026). General Liability Insurance Loss Ratios by State: 2026. Retrieved from https://www.getbusinesscoverage.com/research/general-liability-loss-ratios-by-state-2026

Methodology

Figures are from the NAIC 2023 Report on Profitability by Line by State — the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' public compilation of insurer financial results, for the Commercial General Liability line. Loss ratio is incurred losses divided by premiums earned; underwriting profit reflects the insurance result after expenses. We rank states worst-first by loss ratio. These are aggregate carrier economics, not a quote for any individual business.

Data Study #3 · Get Business Coverage. Aggregate NAIC industry results, not individual premiums. Compiled 2026 from public regulator data.

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