Corporate health insurance premiums are projected to rise 7.8 percent in 2026, the steepest increase in 15 years, driven by expensive specialty drug adoption, rising healthcare utilization, and higher administrative costs. Companies employing fewer than 500 workers are being hit hardest, as they lack the negotiating leverage of large employers to push back on carrier rate increases.
Liability insurance across multiple commercial lines has also risen sharply following several large jury awards in civil litigation. Construction, transportation, and food service companies are seeing the most severe increases. CFOs are increasingly citing insurance cost inflation as a material risk factor in earnings guidance, and some are restructuring benefit plans in ways that shift a greater share of costs onto employees.
