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

February's auto increases came with a warning label: 'tempered' now, more later.

Approved in February 2026: rate-increase filings touching 1,000+ Northeast policyholders across workers comp and commercial auto. The pattern is carriers holding visible hikes well below their indicated need — a 7% increase against a 21% indication, a small headline masking a 13.6% cumulative jump. The relief is temporary by design.

Industries in this issue's filings

Trucking & Transportation
in 3 of 4 filings
Construction & Contractors
in 3 of 4 filings
Buses, Limos & Transport
in 2 of 4 filings
Education & Non-Profit
in 1 of 4 filings

Lead Filing

MACommercial AutoSeverity 3/5

Safety Group re-prices a 19,929-policy Massachusetts auto book

Approved February 4, effective May 1. Safety Group raises Massachusetts commercial auto across a 19,929-policyholder, $109.0M book, with non-fleet trucks, tractors and trailers up 6.45% and non-fleet private-passenger types up 7.68%. The carrier is correcting deteriorating Bodily Injury experience by reworking its Risk Score Factors.

Specific segments fare worse: school and church buses take a 15% collision increase, limos and car services 10% on physical damage, and fleets over 40 vehicles get a higher fleet factor. It's the broadest-reach auto filing of the month.

+7.7%
Non-fleet PPT
+15%
Bus collision
19,929
Policyholders
$109.0M
Premium

Also Approved This Cycle

PACommercial AutoSev 3

Mutual Benefit takes 7% in PA — but indicated need is 20.9%

Mutual Benefit raises Pennsylvania commercial auto 7% on average by adopting ISO's revised loss costs, with non-fleet risks and certain territories hitting the 22.5% cap (physical-damage multipliers up to 2.03). The gap between the 7% taken and the 20.9% indicated is your early warning for 2027.

4,013 policyholders · $21.0M premium · effective Jun 1
PAWorkers CompSev 4

ICW Group's 'decrease' is really a 13.6% cumulative hike

ICW Group adopts the new PCRB loss costs with a headline April change that looks small — but the cumulative 12-month impact is 13.6%, and some accounts hit the 30.6% individual cap. Domestic and per-capita classes also face new minimums. Don't let the headline fool the renewal conversation.

1,232 policyholders · $34.6M premium · effective Apr 1
CTWorkers CompSev 4

Nationwide's Harleysville paper jumps 28.8% in CT

On adoption of NCCI voluntary loss costs, Nationwide's Harleysville company raises Connecticut workers-comp 28.8% on average, with a 46.5% max — while a sister company (Depositors) takes just 4.1%. With 11 Nationwide companies writing CT comp, which paper your client sits on now matters by 30+ points.

157 policyholders · $0.4M premium · effective Apr 1
OHCommercial AutoSev 3

GEICO hikes Ohio physical damage ~15% as repair losses spike

GEICO raises Ohio business-auto physical damage ~15% with Comprehensive loss ratios at 264% and Collision at 177%. It again benchmarked Progressive for stability and expanded DriveEasy Pro telematics — with new terms allowing driver data to be shared for research and litigation.

3,168 policyholders · $3.6M premium · effective Mar 12

Why the 'tempered' theme matters

Three of this month's filings took far less than their actuaries said they needed — Mutual Benefit at 7% against 20.9%, ICW behind a soft headline, others capped. Carriers do this to manage retention, not because the loss pressure eased. When you see a tempered filing, treat next year's renewal as the real one and benchmark now.

NortheastThis week
Southeast
Midwest / NW
Southwest
Insurance Xdate
FILING WATCH
Northeast Edition · February 2026
Page 2 — The Wider Market: All Other Lines
Beyond WC & Auto

Package carriers leaned on liability: medical, condo and umbrella classes took the brunt.

Same screen, every other commercial line approved in February. The liability portion of package and umbrella programs is where carriers pushed hardest — and several filings cap visible renewals while their indicated need runs far higher.

Industries in this issue's filings

Healthcare & Medical Facilities
+21.6% liability
Community Associations & Condos
+17% liability
Real Estate & Lessors
LRO, apartments
Cultural & Non-Profit
+17.1% liability

Lead Filing

MACommercial PackageSeverity 4/5

The Hanover re-rates MA small commercial — medical facilities +21.6%

Approved February 9, effective July 1. The Hanover raises its Massachusetts small-commercial package book 6.9% on average across 3,014 policyholders and $13.0M, but the class-level moves are what bite: medical facilities +21.6% liability, cultural institutions +17.1%, condominiums +17.0%, lessor's-risk +14.2%.

Adopting updated ISO loss costs and profitability-based class factors, the filing allows individual policy spikes as high as 39.8% — so a clean-loss medical or condo account can still see a number that looks nothing like the 6.9% average.

+21.6%
Medical
+39.8%
Max policy
3,014
Policyholders
$13.0M
Premium

Two Filings Worth a Closer Look

MACommercial PackageSev 4

Allmerica/Hanover converts its legacy BOP book with double-digit liability

A companion Hanover filing folds the legacy BOP 'Avenues' product into its small-commercial program, adopting ISO loss costs with profitability-based class factors. Same playbook: a modest average masking class-specific liability jumps for medical, real estate and tech-manufacturing risks. Effective July 1.

3,014 policyholders · $13.0M premium · approved Feb 9
NJCommercial PackageSev 3

Travelers re-tiers NJ packages: day spas +40%, laundromats +25%

Across an 8,251-policy NJ book, Travelers reallocates class factors — personal-care day spas +40%, laundromats +25%, med spas +10% — while cutting professional and financial services 25% to win that business. A +/-30% stabilization cap softens year one. Effective March 15.

8,251 policyholders · $86.3M premium · approved Feb 25

The Rest of the Qualifying List

StateCarrierLine / Sub-typeSeverityPolicyholdersEffective
CTVariousOther Liability — CGL5 / 52,447Jul 1, 2026
CTVariousCMP — Commercial Package4 / 53,706Apr 13, 2026

Also on the radar

A wave of severity-3 CMP and GL increases just misses our impact bar but carries reach: a 3,785-policyholder MA general-liability hike (approved Feb 9) and several businessowners re-rates in the 1,500–3,000 range across NJ and MA. The common thread is liability, not property — carriers are correcting bodily-injury and social-inflation losses while holding property closer to flat.

Insurance Xdate
FILING WATCH
Northeast Edition · February 2026
Page 3 — Filing Effects: Guidelines, Coverage & Scoring
Beyond the Rate Number

The scoring trend kept building — and a black-box 'rating index' arrived that can double your premium.

Same region, the structural changes the rate number hides: scoring models, tier consolidations and coverage cuts approved in February. The standout is a new proprietary rating index that adjusts premium up to 100% on public-record data the insured never sees.

Industries in this page's filings

Trucking & Transportation
telematics + tiering
Restaurants & Retail
scoring + exclusions
Construction & Contractors
tenure factors
Personal Care & Services
class reallocation

Lead Filing · Structural Signal

MACommercial PackageSeverity 4/5

State Farm's new Customer Rating Index can swing a premium up to 100%

Approved March 6, effective January 2027. State Farm introduces a Massachusetts Customer Rating Index — a proprietary score built on 'publicly available reports' that can adjust premium by up to 100%, moving roughly 0.3% per index point. Policyholders don't review the data behind their own number.

The same filing adds a Cyber Suite at +16.4%, narrows D&O to exclude contract-breach liability, and excludes digital tokens (NFTs/crypto) and PFAS from property coverage. A single filing that re-prices and re-scopes at once.

Up to 100%
Index swing
+16.4%
Cyber Suite
D&O
Contract gap
PFAS
Excluded

New Scoring Models — The Trend Is Real

OHCommercial AutoSev 3

State Farm adds telematics — and a 15% surcharge — to a 19,132-policy Ohio book

State Farm launches Drive Safe & Save Business in Ohio: a 5% participation credit up front, but driving data can drive a surcharge up to 15%. A new Years-in-Business factor penalizes newer firms, and Hired/Non-Owned liability jumps 22.9%. Telematics is now a two-way street.

19,132 policyholders · $13.3M premium · approved Feb 19
MACommercial AutoSev 3

GEICO leans on a competitor's data — and its telematics terms widen

GEICO's ~15% Massachusetts physical-damage filing openly benchmarks Progressive because its own data is too volatile to stand alone (Comprehensive loss ratio 264%). New DriveEasy Pro terms allow driver data to be shared with third parties for research and used in litigation.

3,168 policyholders · $3.6M premium · approved Feb 18
CTWorkers CompSev 3

Berkshire GUARD consolidates tiers — most NorGUARD risks pay ~9% more

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD eliminates the NorGUARD non-standard tier in Connecticut, pushing most NorGUARD policyholders up ~8.7% under a single multiplier, while preferred risks routed to EastGUARD drop 14.3%. Where your client lands in the consolidation is the whole story.

1,875 policyholders · $8.0M premium · approved Feb 26

Underwriting Guideline Changes

MACommercial PackageSev 4

State Farm narrows D&O and adds catastrophe deductibles

Alongside the Customer Rating Index, State Farm revises D&O to exclude any liability for breach of oral or written contract — a real gap for professional offices sued on contract disputes — and introduces a mandatory Hurricane Duration Deductible for coastal property. Coverage scope is moving as fast as price.

policyholder count not reported · approved Mar 6
PAWorkers CompSev 4

ICW Group rewrites per-capita minimums for domestic classes

Beyond the 13.6% cumulative rate impact, ICW Group's PA filing introduces a $270 expense constant and new minimum-premium floors for domestic and per-capita class codes — raising the cost floor for households with staff regardless of loss history. Effective April 1.

1,232 policyholders · $34.6M premium · effective Apr 1

Coverage Contraction

MACommercial PackageSev 4

State Farm excludes crypto and PFAS from property

The MA package filing strips coverage for digital tokens (NFTs and cryptocurrency) and adds a Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) exclusion — two fast-emerging exposures removed in one stroke. Businesses holding digital assets or with any PFAS contact lose that protection at renewal.

policyholder count not reported · approved Mar 6
MACommercial PackageSev 3

CNA caps community-association discretion at +/-25%

CNA's Massachusetts community-association filing limits underwriter risk modification to +/-25% against a 30.9% indicated need, and penalizes larger associations (12% for 250+ units). Less negotiating room plus a tiered penalty means mid-to-large HOAs feel a structural increase. Effective December 1.

843 policyholders · $1.5M premium · approved Jan 13 (effective this window)
NJCommercial PackageSev 3

Travelers reallocates NJ class factors with a +/-30% cap

Travelers' NJ re-tiering hands day spas a 40% factor increase and laundromats 25% while crediting professional services 25% — a deliberate book reshaping. The +/-30% stabilization cap softens the first renewal but signals further moves for the penalized classes. Effective March 15.

8,251 policyholders · $86.3M premium · approved Feb 25

Also on the radar

The scoring drumbeat continued in commercial auto: multiple Ohio and PA filings added or refreshed credit-and-tier models (State Farm DSSI telematics, GEICO benchmarking). On coverage, cyber, crypto and PFAS exclusions showed up across package programs — the same emerging exposures being pruned market-wide. The takeaway for renewals: the rate is only half the change; check what scope quietly left the policy.