Assurant introduced updates to its Wisconsin homeowners program, combining a mid-single-digit rate increase with expanded property-level underwriting factors.

The filing, submitted April 7, 2026, and approved on a file-and-use basis, applies to about 193 policyholders and $433,939 in written premium. It takes effect September 1, 2026 for new business and October 1, 2026 for renewals.

The company is implementing a +5.9% overall rate impact, below its +6.6% indicated need, suggesting a slightly moderated approach to rate adequacy. Individual outcomes vary widely, with changes ranging from -4.1% to +24.6%, driven primarily by new structural rating variables.

At the core of the update is a shift toward more granular property segmentation. The program introduces three new rating factors:

• Number of bathrooms
• Number of stories
• Roof-attached structures, including solar panels

These variables are now embedded directly into the rate order calculation, alongside existing inputs such as protection class, renovation history, and claims experience. The additions reflect a continued move toward capturing physical home complexity rather than relying solely on traditional proxies like age or territory.

The bathroom factor is the largest contributor among the new variables, adding roughly +1.3% to overall premium and disproportionately impacting larger homes with more bathrooms. The stories factor offsets some of that increase, reducing premiums by about -0.8%, while the roof-attached structure factor has a negligible impact.

Notably, the company acknowledges limited internal credibility and leans on competitor benchmarks to calibrate these new factors, signaling a common approach among smaller or newer books where experience data is thin.

Base rates are also increasing by about +6.3% across perils, including fire, wind/hail, and water, contributing the bulk of the overall rate change.

From a strategy standpoint, the update points to a continued push toward property-level underwriting precision. Rather than broad rate increases, the company is layering in structural attributes that allow for more differentiated pricing—especially for higher-value or more complex homes.