Penn National submitted a rate and rule filing in Virginia affecting its Businessowners Policy program. The filing was submitted on March 10, 2026 and is scheduled to take effect September 1, 2026 for both new and renewal business.
The filing introduces changes to policywriting minimum premiums and updates to the companies’ loss cost multipliers used to develop final rates. According to the filing, the policywriting minimum has not been revised in more than a decade, and the proposed increase reflects higher administrative and policy issuance costs over time. The company calculated the new minimum using an assumed annual inflation rate of roughly 2.5% compounded over ten years, resulting in a 25% increase to the minimum premium requirement.
Overall rate impacts differ by company. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company is proposing a rate impact of approximately 15.2%, while Penn National Security Insurance Company is proposing a 15.3% increase. The indicated change underlying the filing is about 39% for both insurers, though the selected rate adjustments are significantly lower.
The Businessowners program currently represents about $2.35 million in written premium across 536 policyholders for Pennsylvania National Mutual and roughly $1.59 million in premium across 316 policyholders for Penn National Security. If approved, the changes would increase written premium by approximately $356,730 and $242,498 respectively.
The updated rules set the minimum premium for one-year policies at $625 and $150 for policies written for terms shorter than one year.
The filing also expands and clarifies eligibility and underwriting criteria for the Businessowners program, outlining the classes of risks that may be written under the policy. Eligible occupancies include habitational risks such as apartment projects and residential condominiums, mercantile and wholesale operations, service businesses, offices, self-storage facilities, lessor’s risk properties, limited cooking restaurants, auto repair operations, and certain contractor classes subject to defined operational and payroll thresholds.