Truck Insurance Rate Increases Cooled Again This Summer
The Ivans Index put average commercial auto renewal increases at 4.93 percent in the second quarter of 2026, down from 8.43 percent a year earlier. The market is softening. Your renewal is still priced off your own file.
The commercial auto renewal number cooled again
The Ivans Index, which measures what the same commercial policy costs at renewal against what it cost a year earlier, put the average commercial auto renewal change at 4.93 percent for the second quarter of 2026. That is down from 5.28 percent in the first quarter and well under the 8.43 percent that line posted in the second quarter of 2025. Risk and Insurance reported on August 19 that the easing carried into July, when commercial auto landed at 4.03 percent.
Ivans builds that figure from more than 120 million data transactions across more than 38,000 agencies and 700 carriers and managing general agents, so it is a real read on where pricing is heading. It is also an average across every kind of commercial vehicle on the road, from a plumbing van to a 200 truck private fleet. That distinction matters more than the headline does.
A cooling market is not the same as a cooling renewal
An index averages. Your renewal does not. The number an underwriter writes on your policy comes out of your own file, and the pieces that move it are the ones you already know. Loss runs going back three to five years. CSA scores and the roadside inspection history behind them. Driver motor vehicle records and how long those drivers have been with you. Radius, commodity, and the real value of what you haul. Units added or dropped mid term.
Two carriers in the same state with the same truck count can sit far apart on rate because one had a preventable rear end loss two years ago and the other did not. A softening index tells you which way the wind is blowing. It does not tell you what your commercial auto liability policy will cost when the quote comes back.
Small fleets still carry the heaviest load per mile
Trucking Info, working from ATRI research published this spring, reported that fleets running five to twenty five trucks pay close to double the per mile insurance rate of fleets running 101 to 250 trucks, and that insurance eats close to five percent of total revenue at the small end. The same research put average liability premiums up roughly 38 percent between 2015 and 2024, reaching 10.2 cents per mile, even while heavy truck crash rates fell across the 2021 to 2024 window.
That gap is the whole story for a one to ten truck operation. Softer pricing reaches the large fleets first, the ones with clean telematics data and a full time safety director. It reaches a small carrier last, and only when that carrier can show the same quality of file.
Umbrella is the line still running hot
Commercial auto was not the highest number in the quarter. Umbrella came in at 7.96 percent, ahead of commercial property at 6.40 percent, business owners policies at 6.16 percent and general liability at 5.44 percent. Workers compensation was the only line moving the other way at negative 1.37 percent.
Excess and umbrella limits sit exactly where the largest verdicts land, so that line prices off court outcomes more than off your own loss history. If a broker or shipper contract obligates you to carry excess limits, budget for that layer to keep climbing even in a year when the primary layer behaves.
What to have ready before your renewal
Start pulling the file 45 to 60 days out. Get current loss runs from every carrier that has written you. Update the driver list and clear anyone who is no longer with you. Refresh the schedule of units with correct VINs and current values, because physical damage pays against the value you put on the policy and a stale number becomes a short check. Write down anything you changed on the safety side this year, including cameras, a tighter hiring standard, or a coaching program, and hand it over. Underwriters price what they can see, and a carrier who shows up with nothing gets priced as though the worst is true.
If you want a sanity check on where your number should sit, our guide to what commercial truck insurance costs walks through the pieces that actually drive the premium.
Get a truck insurance quote in under a minute and find out what the softer market is worth on your operation. Start on our quote form or call or text 423-264-4255 and we will work your renewal from your real loss runs, not from a market average.
Common questions
Are truck insurance rates going down in 2026
Rate increases are getting smaller, which is not the same thing. The Ivans Index showed commercial auto renewals averaging 4.93 percent higher in the second quarter of 2026 and 4.03 percent higher in July. Most carriers are still paying more than last year, just less more than they did in 2025.
Why did my renewal go up when the market is softening
Because your renewal is priced off your file rather than off an index. A new loss, a jump in CSA scores, a driver with a fresh violation, added units, or a wider radius can each outweigh a softening market on their own. The market average sets the backdrop, not your number.
Do small fleets pay more than large fleets for the same coverage
Yes, and the gap is wide. Research reported by Trucking Info found that fleets running five to twenty five trucks pay close to double the per mile insurance rate of fleets running 101 to 250 trucks, with insurance taking close to five percent of revenue at the small end.
When should I start shopping my truck insurance renewal
About 45 to 60 days before the effective date, with current loss runs and an updated driver and unit list in hand. That is enough runway for a broker to market the account properly. You can get a truck insurance quote from us in under a minute, or call or text 423-264-4255 to start.
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