Commercial insurance brokers reported the first overall decline in premiums across all account sizes since 2017, according to Q1 2026 survey data from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), Marsh, and The Baldwin Group. But that relief skipped one group: small business accounts, which posted a 1.1% rate increase even as large and medium-sized accounts saw premiums fall.
What happened
The CIAB-Marsh-Baldwin Group data, compiled and reported by insurance-industry outlet AgencyEquity, shows overall commercial premiums down 1.2% in the first quarter of 2026 — broken down as a 2.7% decrease for large accounts and a 1.9% decrease for medium accounts. Small business accounts moved in the opposite direction, up 1.1%.
The softening is concentrated in property and cyber coverage: property rates fell 6% to 10%, and cyber insurance rates fell about 2%. Directors & officers coverage held flat to down, and employment practices liability saw modest decreases. Casualty lines told a different story — general liability rates rose roughly 9% and commercial auto rose about 6%, continuing a multi-year run of increases in those categories that has offset the relief showing up elsewhere.
Why it matters
Small businesses tend to carry a heavier mix of the coverage types that are still getting more expensive — general liability and commercial auto — relative to the property and cyber lines where large enterprises with more complex risk profiles are seeing the biggest relief. That mix is a likely driver of why the smallest accounts are the one segment moving the wrong direction even as the broader market finally turns.
What this means for small business owners
If your insurance renewal came in flat or slightly up this year despite hearing “the market is softening,” you’re not imagining it — the data backs that up for accounts your size. When your policy renews, ask your broker for a line-by-line breakdown rather than accepting a blended premium number: property or cyber coverage bundled into your policy may actually be cheaper this year, even if general liability or commercial auto increases are masking it in the total.
This is also a good prompt to revisit your bundling strategy. A Business Owners Policy (BOP) that bundles general liability, property, and business interruption coverage may be worth re-quoting separately this year, since the components are moving in different directions for the first time in a while.
“For the first time since 2017, brokers reported an overall decline in commercial insurance premiums across all account sizes.” — CIAB data, via AgencyEquity
The bottom line
The broader commercial insurance market is finally cooling, but small businesses are still absorbing higher premiums, largely from general liability and commercial auto. Owners renewing coverage this year should push for a coverage-by-coverage rate breakdown rather than trusting a single blended renewal number — and shop the lines that are softening even if the policy as a whole comes in flat.
