Hiscox filed changes to its Maryland Businessowners Program that would raise rates by 9.1% overall, with the update affecting 1,682 policyholders and about $1.5 million in written premium.

The filing, submitted on March 11, 2026, calls for the changes to take effect on April 20, 2026, for new business and August 18, 2026, for renewals. Hiscox said the indicated change was 16.2%, but the selected rate impact for Maryland came in lower at 9.1%, producing an estimated written premium increase of nearly $138,000.

The increase is driven more by property than liability. According to the actuarial memo, the Maryland change reflects a 12% impact for property coverage and a 4.6% impact for liability coverage. Base rates for building and business personal property are being increased by 11.4% across the table, while liability pricing is being reshaped rather than uniformly increased.

One of the more notable changes is on the liability side, where Hiscox is flattening the revenue curve for risks with revenues above $800,000. That results in modest increases for smaller accounts and rate decreases for larger ones. For premises and operations liability, the proposed change ranges from a 5.5% increase at $50,000 in revenue to a 19.3% decrease at $10 million and above. Products and completed operations follows a similar pattern.

The filing also revises industry modifiers across property and liability. The supporting exhibits show targeted increases for several retail and service classes, including furniture stores, beauty supply stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, miscellaneous schools, miscellaneous health practitioners, and all other personal services. Some of the largest proposed industry factor changes are tied to offices of all other miscellaneous health practitioners and all other personal services.

Beyond base rates and industry factors, Hiscox is overhauling its rating rules. The company is replacing a long list of underwriting judgment factors, including claims history, nature of operations, derogatory items, future outlook, management quality, financial condition, premises condition, security controls, years in operation, and exposure adequacy. It is also introducing a schedule rating plan that allows aggregate credits or debits of up to 40% based on characteristics such as management, location, building features, public reviews, referral group quality, contracts, and safety organization.

The dislocation exhibit suggests most policyholders will see relatively modest movement, with the largest concentration landing between no change and 10% increases. Still, a meaningful number of accounts are expected to see larger premium swings, including some above 20%.