The upward trend in the number of small businesses nationwide shows no signs of slowing down. Applications for new businesses rose 8.1% month over month from June 2026 to July 2026, according to Census Bureau data, and 79% of established small businesses expect an average revenue increase of 7.9% this year, according to Comerica Bank’s Small Business Pulse Index.
As businesses expand, they often outgrow their existing insurance coverage. That is where an independent agent’s judgment matters most. Agents who stay on top of market trends and explain the differences between traditional standard markets and excess and surplus (E&S) lines can help business owners make the best choices based on their unique exposures.
Options Expand
Some pockets of the commercial market, such as property, cyber, certain professional lines and employment practices and liability insurance, are softening, creating more capacity. Others, such as commercial auto and umbrella, remain stubbornly entrenched in hard market conditions, driven in part by an increase in nuclear verdicts nationwide.
Read Full Article written by Jerry Thacker, SIAA’s Director of Business Development
Commercial Lines, published September 18, 2026, in The Standard. Reprinted with permission from The Standard, Copyright 2026, Standard Publishing Corporation, Boston, MA. All rights reserved.