Filing Watch: Midwest / NW — May 2026 (3-Page Tabloid)
Insurance Xdate
FILING WATCH
Midwest / NW Edition · May 2026
Page 1 — Workers Comp & Commercial Auto
Monthly Rate Briefing

Commercial auto is where the Midwest hurts — and trucking is taking the brunt.

Workers comp was quiet across the region this month: most approved WC filings were loss-cost decreases or neutral. Commercial auto is the opposite story. Every page-1 increase that cleared our screen is auto, the actuarial indications behind them run far above what carriers actually took, and trucking classes carry the heaviest loads. Here's what your fleet clients are about to feel.

Industries in this issue's filings

Trucking & Motor Carriers
lead exposure
Construction & Contractors
in 4 of 6 filings
Auto Dealers
in 3 of 6 filings
Agriculture & Farm
ND / agribusiness

Lead Filing

MOCommercial AutoSeverity 4/5

Shelter's 15.8% Missouri average hides 31% for truckmen — and the indication was 27.5%

Approved May 6, effective June 25. Shelter's Missouri commercial auto book — 11,188 policyholders, $13.7M in premium — takes a 15.8% average increase. But for-hire trucking (truckmen) classes and high-loss territories run up to 31.2%, and Shelter drops the $10,000 property-damage limit option while raising single-limit factors from $300,000 to $5M. The actuarial indication was 27.5%, so this isn't the last filing — and Shelter is exiting for-hire trucking entirely (page 3).

+15.8%
Average
+31.2%
Truckmen max
11,188
Policyholders
27.5%
Indicated need
$1,226
Avg prem/policy

Also Approved This Cycle

NDCommercial AutoISO Advisory

ISO resets North Dakota: limit costs up 29.2%, heavy trucks +39.7%

ISO's ND commercial auto advisory raises increased-limit factors a statewide-average 29.2% — heavy trucks +39.7%, extra-heavy +34.5% — as the state moves into a higher-loss group alongside GA and CO. The common $1M limit jumps the most. This is the floor every adopting carrier in ND now builds on.

Market-wide signal · effective Oct 1 · contractors, wholesalers & heavy trucks
KSCommercial AutoSev 5

CNA takes 44% in Kansas — up to 80% — and adds a fleet penalty

After five straight years of double-digit hikes, CNA's Kansas commercial auto book takes a 44% average increase, with some accounts at 80%. ISO fleet-size factors are fully replaced with higher carrier-specific factors for fleets of 10+ vehicles, so larger fleets pay a penalty on top of the rate. Trucks and truck-tractors are hit hardest.

276 policyholders · $3.7M premium · effective Sep 1 · ~$13,401/policy
MOCommercial AutoSev 3

West Bend takes 5.6% but its indication is 21.1% — auto dealers and driving schools squeezed

West Bend takes only 5.6% overall against a 21.1% indicated need, so renewals will keep climbing. Zone-rated loss costs jump 30% to match ISO, the driver-training-school factor rises from 1.10 to 1.21, and the non-franchised auto-dealer factor moves to 1.50. Independent dealers and multi-zone fleets feel it first.

1,640 policyholders · $16.7M premium · effective Aug 1 · ~$10,207/policy
NDCommercial AutoSev 3

SECURA adopts the new ISO ND loss costs — agribusiness and dealers swing most

SECURA takes the new ISO ND loss costs and ILFs, eliminates territory deviation factors, and lands a 7% average increase capped at 12% for the commercial segment. Agribusiness fleets and auto dealers see the sharpest moves; nearly 1,000 ND businesses are affected. It's the SECURA companion to the ISO advisory above.

973 policyholders · $9.3M premium · effective Aug 1 · ~$9,540/policy

Where's the workers comp?

There isn't a WC rate story worth leading with this month — and that's the honest read, not a gap in our screen. Across the Midwest and Northwest, the large approved WC filings this cycle were loss-cost decreases or neutral schedule-rating updates; bureau costs are still trending down in most of these states. When comp is soft, commercial auto is where your clients' premium dollars actually move. That's the whole page this month.

Northeast
Southeast
Midwest / NWThis week
Southwest
How we screen. SERFF filings via Insurance Xdates, filtered for: approved in May 2026 (by disposition date), unfavorable policyholder impact, high-to-critical severity, rate-increase effect, Workers Comp (16.0) and Commercial Auto (20.0), 1,000+ policyholders (whole-program filings with unreported counts kept and noted). Two ND auto filings are severity 3 — included for reach and because they share the ISO advisory floor. Figures are filing-level SERFF snapshots; individual impacts vary. 1 / 3
Insurance Xdate
FILING WATCH
Midwest / NW Edition · May 2026
Page 2 — The Wider Market: All Other Lines
Beyond WC & Auto

The package and liability market is repricing Main Street — and habitational is the pressure point.

Same screen, every other commercial line. Property, package, general liability and specialty filings are clearing across the region, and the recurring theme is the gap between what carriers took and what their own actuaries say they need. Apartments, contractors, nonprofits and manufacturers are squarely in scope.

Industries in this issue's filings

Real Estate & Habitational
lead exposure
Construction & Contractors
in 3 of 7 filings
Religious & Nonprofits
in 2 of 7 filings
Manufacturers
MT products liability

Lead Filing

KSCMP — Commercial PackageSeverity 3/5

Shelter raises Kansas apartment rates 18.7% — and the worst cases hit 19.1%

Approved May 28, effective August 12. The region's largest page-2 book this cycle: 3,095 Kansas multi-family policyholders, $4.9M in premium. Shelter raises apartment-building package rates an average 18.7%, with 4-unit masonry apartments at a $2,000 deductible taking the maximum 19.1%. The carrier cites worse cumulative apartment loss experience versus rental dwellings, plus a 4% materials-cost trend. Habitational is the segment under the most pressure region-wide — Nationwide's Nebraska BOP filing on the radar shows a 187% indicated need on the same exposure.

+18.7%
Average
+19.1%
Max
3,095
Policyholders
$4.9M
Premium
$1,577
Avg prem/policy

Three Filings Worth a Closer Look

MTGeneral LiabilityISO Advisory

ISO lifts Montana GL limit costs ~11% — manufacturers feel products liability most

ISO's Montana GL advisory raises increased-limit factors about 11% as the state moves to a higher-severity group (11.0% premises/operations trend). Products and completed-operations Table A rises 11.7%; high-severity premises classes 10.8%. The squeeze lands on contractors and manufacturers carrying $1M+ limits and umbrella layers — and every adopting carrier inherits it.

Market-wide signal · effective Nov 1 · $1M+ limits & umbrella
NEAbuse & MolestationSev 4

Philadelphia raises Nebraska abuse coverage ~25% for nonprofits

Philadelphia Indemnity raises Sexual Abuse & Molestation (SAM) rates about 25% for Nebraska social-service agencies and religious and civic organizations, against a +37.5% rate-level indication. For nonprofits that can't operate without this coverage, it's a meaningful renewal jump with more likely to follow.

358 policyholders · $827K premium · effective Apr 1, 2027 · ~$2,311/policy
KSBOP — ContractorsSev 3

Chubb's new $485 minimum nearly doubles small-contractor GL

Chubb introduces a mandatory $485 minimum premium on monoline general-liability policies in its contractors segment — roughly a 95% jump for the smallest artisan contractors paying the old floor. Chubb pegs fixed expense per policy at $691 to justify it. A clean loss record buys no relief below the floor.

1,123 policyholders · $5.4M premium · effective Jun 26 · ~$4,781/policy

The Rest of the Qualifying List

StateCarrierLine / Sub-typeSeverityPolicyholdersEffective
KSChurch MutualGL — Religious / Schools / Nonprofits4 / 5497Nov 1, 2026
IDLiberty Mutual (Ohio Security)CMP — Farm & Ranch2 / 51,019Jul 1, 2026

Also on the radar

Habitational keeps flashing red. Nationwide's Nebraska BOP filing (approved May 15, 628 policyholders) took 8.7% overall but disclosed a 187.3% indicated need on habitational liability — townhouse associations face up to 25%, and the filing adds new drone-liability rates. Church Mutual's Kansas GL (497 policyholders) pairs a 17.8% increase with new wildfire, class-action and war exclusions — featured on page 3 for the coverage cuts. And Liberty Mutual's Idaho farm book (1,019 policyholders) took just 4% against a 15.8% indication — a bigger correction is telegraphed.

How we screen, page 2. Same filters as page 1 — approved May 2026, unfavorable impact, severity 3–5 with reach, rate-increase effect, 1,000+ policyholders where reported — applied to every commercial line except Workers Comp and Commercial Auto. Personal lines (personal auto, homeowners, personal umbrella) are excluded even when they surface in the sweep. Figures are filing-level SERFF snapshots; individual impacts vary. Not placement advice. 2 / 3
Insurance Xdate
FILING WATCH
Midwest / NW Edition · May 2026
Page 3 — Filing Effects: Guidelines, Coverage & Scoring
Beyond the Rate Number

The real Midwest story is structural: carriers are exiting trucking, scoring your trucks, and cutting coverage.

This is where the month gets loud. Two for-hire trucking market exits, a multi-state electric-truck exclusion, third-party scoring models pricing fleets by their vehicles' history, and a fresh wave of liability exclusions — Gen-AI, PFAS, wildfire, war. Rate is page 1. This is what actually changes what your clients can buy.

Industries in this page's filings

Trucking & Motor Carriers
exits & scoring
Auto Dealers & Fleets
telematics / class re-map
Agriculture & Farm
Triangle ag exits
Tech & Media
Gen-AI cyber exclusion

Lead Filing · ISO Advisory — Market-Wide Signal

IDCyber — ISO Advisory FormsSeverity 4/5

ISO's new cyber forms: war "by any means" excluded, and Generative AI loses media coverage

Approved May 19, effective April 2027. This advisory forms filing rewrites the base cyber policy most carriers build on. A mandatory War Exclusion excludes war "by any means," including state-linked cyber-attacks. A new Generative-AI exclusion strips media-liability coverage for losses arising out of AI-generated content — a direct hit on any firm using ChatGPT or Midjourney for client work. And a Litigation-Funding Mutual-Disclosure condition lets insurers demand details of third-party claim funding. Every adopting carrier in Idaho inherits all three.

War "by any means"
New exclusion
Gen-AI content
Media cover stripped
Lit. funding
Disclosure demanded
Apr 2027
Effective

New Scoring Models — Your Trucks Are Being Graded

SDCommercial AutoSev 3

Acuity scores the truck's past, not the driver's record

Acuity adds the TransUnion Commercial Vehicle History Score (CARFAX-powered) to South Dakota auto rating. Filed as a 0% statewide change, it actually swings individual premiums up to 55% between best and worst scores — fleets with high-odometer trucks or frequent ownership changes pay up to ~30% more even with clean driving records.

1,776 policyholders · $24.8M premium · effective Jul 11 · ~$13,957/policy
WACommercial Auto — TruckersSev 4

IAT rebuilds WA trucking around a Progressive-style driver point system

IAT/Harco rebuilds its $43.5M Washington trucking program around a 171-level driver-modification factor keyed to MVR points and driver age, and adds a mandatory 25% surcharge for team-driven units. Drivers under 25 or over 75, high-point drivers and team operations pay materially more as the book moves from proprietary to ISO rating.

972 policyholders · $43.5M premium · effective Apr 27 · ~$44,702/policy
WACommercial AutoSev 4

Midvale's class re-map quietly moves fleets into pricier buckets

Midvale launches a 'Vehicle Monitor' telematics program (10% participation discount) and re-maps secondary class codes across wholesale, retail and service — silently pushing many contractor and 'all-other' risks into costlier classes. Food-delivery restaurants and wholesalers see the steepest jumps; non-participants effectively pay 10% more.

506 policyholders · $3.0M premium · effective Sep 16 · ~$5,990/policy

Market Exits & Underwriting Changes

MO + KSCommercial Auto — TruckersSev 5

Shelter exits for-hire trucking in two states — and cancels your DOT filings with it

Shelter is non-renewing its entire for-hire trucking (truckmen) book — about 917 motor carriers in Missouri ($13.7M) and 649 in Kansas ($2.4M) — rather than migrate the line into its new Guidewire system. The catch that matters most: non-renewal also cancels the associated state and federal filings (Form E/H, BMC-91X), so a coverage lapse can suspend a fleet's operating authority. Place replacements before the non-renewal date, not after.

1,566 motor carriers across MO + KS · effective Aug 1 (KS) / Nov 1 (MO)
MTCommercial Auto — TruckersSev 4

Great American excludes electric and hybrid trucks outright — in five states

A mandatory exclusion strips ALL zero-emission and hybrid trucks — battery-electric, hydrogen and plug-in hybrid — from non-trucking liability and physical damage, with Symbol 52 redefined to exclude them. The stated reason: no rates exist in Great American's system to price them. Companion filings cleared in KS, ND, OR and ID. An owner-operator who adds an electric rig mid-term may be running bare without knowing it.

— count not reported · effective Aug 29 · 5-state form

Coverage Contraction

WYGeneral LiabilitySev 4

Liberty Mutual excludes PFAS and 'respirable dust' in Wyoming

Liberty Mutual adds a total Endocrine-Disruptor exclusion naming PFAS, BPA, phthalates and PCBs, plus a Respirable Dust or Vapors exclusion removing coverage for inhaled particulate and VOCs. The dust exception for hostile fire is explicitly denied at waste and remediation sites. Chemical and plastics makers, waste firms and demolition contractors lose major coverage.

— count not reported · effective Oct 1 · manufacturers & contractors
KSGeneral LiabilitySev 4

Church Mutual thins church and school coverage while raising rates 17.8%

Beyond a 17.8% average increase (up to 25.6%), Church Mutual's Kansas filing adds new mandatory exclusions — wildfire, class-action, war/cyber-war — and a traumatic-brain-injury limitation for athletic activities. Religious organizations, private schools and nonprofits pay more and get less at the same renewal.

497 policyholders · $593K premium · effective Nov 1 · ~$1,194/policy
NECyber LiabilitySev 4

Travelers makes cyber-crime cover ratable — and indicates a 73% need

Travelers reprices its Nebraska CyberRisk book ~17% on average against a 73.3% indicated need, with some accounts up to 163.9%. It converts Cyber Crime first-party coverage to a ratable per-event endorsement — charging extra for what was bundled — and revises high-limit factors. The average hides extreme account-level volatility.

197 policyholders · $3.4M premium · effective Nov 1 · ~$17,441/policy

Also on the radar

The trucking shake-up runs deeper than the features. The Hartford (Trumbull) revised its telematics rating in Missouri with TTT classes up 7.9–9.0% (approved May 19). Triangle exited Motor Carrier and Crime lines inside its Kansas agribusiness package and layered on Gen-AI, assault/battery and human-trafficking exclusions — ag operations with trucking exposure lose package cover. And the electric-truck exclusion is genuinely multi-state: Great American's same form cleared in KS, ND, OR and ID alongside the Montana lead. If a fleet client is electrifying, audit the policy form before they take delivery.

How we screen, page 3. SERFF filings via Insurance Xdates, approved May 2026, Midwest / NW states, all commercial lines, severity 3–5, filing effects MARKET_EXIT / SCORING_MODEL / TIERING_REVISION / UNDERWRITING_REVISION / COVERAGE_MODIFICATION. Sentiment is predominantly unfavorable. Because these effects mingle with rate changes, each featured filing was pulled and verified for substance — rate-driven filings live on pages 1–2. Policyholder threshold (1,000+) relaxed where the structural change is itself the story (market exits, scoring models, coverage cuts). 3 / 3