Which insurance lines are going up for golf courses in 2026?

Umbrella and excess liability is the line to watch. The second quarter of 2026 was its 35th consecutive quarter of rate increases, up 5.3 percent per CIAB, while commercial property rates fell 6.3 percent in the same quarter. Commercial auto rose 4.5 percent. Workers compensation is the one line genuinely getting cheaper, down 3.2 percent, with NCCI approved loss cost filings expected to reduce written premium by about 5 percent from 2025 to 2026.

What should I do if my golf course insurance premium increased?

Ask for the rate rather than the premium and compare expiring to renewal side by side. Check whether your statement of values changed, because a reappraisal raises premium with no change in coverage. Look at the umbrella separately, since it is the line most likely driving the increase. Confirm your workers compensation class codes, because comp rates are falling and an increase there needs a specific explanation. And start the renewal earlier next year.

Why did my golf course insurance premium go up when rates are falling?

Q: Is a premium increase a reason to change insurance agents?

Not by itself. In a year when property rates fell and renewal premiums still rose, an increase is normal and an agent who explains it accurately is doing the job. The question worth asking is not whether the number went up, but whether anyone showed you the rate underneath it.

By Justin Rollins, Principal · Tennessee Insurance Producer License #3003585547 · Updated September 15, 2026

Because rate and premium are two different numbers, and they are currently moving in opposite directions.

Commercial property rates have fallen for eight consecutive quarters. Marsh measured US commercial property rates down 13%in the second quarter of 2026. The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers measured commercial property down 6.3% in the same quarter. By any rate measure, this is a soft market.

But the Ivans Index — which measures the premium actually charged at renewalon a consistent policy rather than the underlying rate — shows commercial property renewal premiums up 6.40% in that same quarter.

The difference is exposure. Your insured values went up. A falling rate applied to a larger schedule still produces a larger bill. If your golf course premium rose this year, the most likely explanation is not that you were singled out — it is that your statement of values finally caught up with construction costs.

What is the difference between a rate increase and a premium increase?

Rate is the price per unit of exposure. Premium is rate multiplied by exposure. Marsh and CIAB survey rate. Ivans measures the premium difference on a single consistent policy, which captures rate plus exposure growth.

For a golf facility the exposure units are property values, gross receipts, liquor receipts, payroll, and cart fleet count. Every one of those has risen since 2021. A club whose revenue recovered, whose clubhouse was reappraised, and whose payroll went up will see a higher premium in a year when rates fell — and nothing has gone wrong.

Which lines are actually going up in 2026?

Line	Rate (CIAB, Q2 2026)	Premium charged (Ivans, Q2 2026)
Commercial property	−6.3%	+6.40%
General liability	—	+5.44%
Umbrella / excess	+5.3%	+7.96%
Commercial auto	+4.5%	+4.93%
Workers compensation	−3.2%	−1.37%

Umbrella is the line to watch.The second quarter of 2026 was its 35th consecutive quarter of rate increases — nearly nine years without a decrease — while property was falling. CIAB notes the property decreases were “at least partially driven by carriers seeking to offset increases they asked for in lines like commercial auto and umbrella.” For a golf facility carrying a large excess tower over a liquor and event operation, the umbrella can move the total program even in a soft year.

Workers compensation is the one line genuinely getting cheaper. NCCI’s 2026 State of the Line reported approved loss cost filings expected to reduce written premium by an average of 5.0% from 2025 to 2026, with a calendar year 2025 combined ratio of 91%. If your comp premium rose, that is worth a specific question — payroll growth, a class code change, or an experience modification movement, not the market.

What should I do about a golf course insurance increase?

Ask for the rate, not the premium. Get the expiring and renewal rate per unit side by side. If rate is flat or down and premium is up, the increase is exposure, and the conversation is about values rather than markets.
Check whether your statement of values changed. A reappraisal, or a trending factor applied to your schedule, will raise premium with no change in coverage at all.
Look at the umbrella separately. It is the line most likely to be driving the increase and the least likely to have been explained to you.
Confirm your workers compensation class codes. Comp rates are falling. If yours went up, something specific happened.
Start earlier next year.A renewal marketed 30 days out gets the market’s leftover capacity. See when a golf course should start its renewal.

Is a premium increase a reason to change agents?

Not by itself. In a year when property rates fell between 6% and 13% depending on the measure and renewal premiums still rose, an increase is normal, and an agent who explains it accurately is doing the job. The question worth asking is not whether the number went up — it is whether anyone showed you the rate underneath it. If nobody has, here is how to tell whether you are overpaying.

Want the rate underneath your premium?

Send your declarations pages — this year’s and last year’s — and we will put it in writing at no cost.

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Sources

Marsh, US Insurance Rates, Q2 2026 — published July 22, 2026.
Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, Commercial P/C Market Survey Q2 2026 — reported August 20, 2026.
Ivans Index Q2 2026, Applied Systems — published July 16, 2026. Methodology: 120 million+ data transactions across 38,000+ agencies and 700+ carriers, measuring year-over-year premium change on a consistent policy.
NCCI 2026 State of the Line — reported May 13, 2026.

This article is general information about insurance market conditions and is not a quote, an offer of coverage, or a legal opinion. Coverage is determined by the actual policy forms. TN License #3003585547.