Q2 2026 State Filings Pulse: New York Becomes Slowest for Homeowners Rate Approvals, California Speeds Up Reviews and Implements Load Balancing, and Personal Auto Rates Flatten
- Written By Brett Horoff
Perr&Knight has published the Q2 2026 edition of State Filings Pulse, highlighting the latest trends in approval times, rate changes, and key filing developments across states.
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Key Highlights from the Q2 2026 Edition
New York Becomes Slowest for Homeowners Rate Approvals
For the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, New York surpassed California and had the longest median approval time for homeowners rate filings at 293 days. California, which historically held that position, was at 202 days for the same 12-month period.
New York did show improvement in the latest quarter. The Q2 median was 239 days, down from 388 days in Q1. It is too early to determine whether this represents a sustained change. New York’s annual median approval time was approximately 60 days from 2021 through 2023 before increasing to 121 days in 2024 and 273 days in 2025.
California Homeowners Rate Approval Times Continue to Improve
California homeowners rate filing approval times continued to improve in the first half of 2026. The median fell to 189 days in Q2, down from 217 days in Q1 and 283 days in 2025. This is a substantial improvement from 340 days in 2024 and 386 days in 2023.
Approved homeowners rate changes in California also moderated. The median approved change declined to 4.0% in Q2 2026 from 7.0% in Q1, after reaching 14.4% in 2025 and 17.9% in 2024. The latest results suggest that both the size of approved increases and the time needed to obtain approval have moved down from recent highs.
California Implements Load Balancing for Filing Assignments
California has six bureaus that review filings. Each bureau consists of a Bureau Chief, Senior Analysts, and Associate Analysts. In total, there are approximately 25 to 30 Senior Analysts across the six bureaus. Each insurance company (or group) is assigned to one of the bureaus and to a Senior Analyst. For some insurance companies, the assigned Senior Analyst may differ depending on whether the filing is personal, commercial, or medical malpractice. These company assignments provide consistency and familiarity because the company’s filings are generally reviewed by the same Bureau Chief and Senior Analyst.
The Department’s filing review assignment process has resulted in unequal filing review workloads among the bureaus. As part of the Department’s efforts to speed up the filing review process, it has implemented load balancing, under which individual filings may be assigned to a different bureau and Senior Analyst to balance workloads across the bureaus. While a filing may be assigned to a different bureau for review, the Bureau Chief for the insurer’s assigned bureau will remain involved in the review process.
For filings where the insurer has had a pre-filing meeting with its assigned Bureau Chief to discuss the details of the filing and wants to help prevent the filing from being assigned to a different bureau, we recommend mentioning the pre-filing meeting in the SERFF Filing Description and alerting the assigned Bureau Chief after the filing has been submitted but before it has been assigned to a bureau and Senior Analyst.
Approved Rate Changes Continue to Cool, and Personal Auto Is Essentially Flat
The moderation in approved rate changes that emerged during 2025 continued into the first half of 2026. Countrywide, the median approved rate change across all rate filings declined to 4.3% in Q2 2026, compared with 5.1% in Q1, 6.8% in 2025, and 9.7% in 2024.
| Line of Business | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 Q1 | 2026 Q2 | 12 Months Ending 6/30/2026 |
| All Rate Filings | 9.7% | 6.8% | 5.1% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Homeowners | 11.3% | 6.8% | 4.7% | 3.0% | 4.9% |
| Personal Auto | 8.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Commercial & Other Personal | 9.7% | 8.2% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 6.8% |
Personal auto shows the most pronounced shift. The countrywide median approved rate change was 0.1% in Q2 2026, compared with 8.0% in 2024. Twenty states recorded negative median approved personal auto rate changes during Q2, demonstrating how broadly the shift has occurred.
Homeowners approved rate changes also continued to moderate, declining from a countrywide median of 6.8% in 2025 to 4.7% in Q1 2026 and 3.0% in Q2. Commercial & Other Personal filings remain comparatively elevated at 5.8%, although that figure is also below both 2025 and 2024 levels.
Time to Approval/Disposition by State
The tables below provide a breakdown, by state, of median time to approval/disposition for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2026.
Rate Filings1,2
| Approval Time Range (Days) | Homeowners | Personal Auto | Commercial & Other Personal |
| 0 to 293 | AL, AR, AZ, ID, IL, IN, KY, LA, MI, MN, MS, MT, NC, NE, NM, OK, OR, SD, TN, UT, WI, WV, WY | AK, AL, AR, AZ, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MN, MS, MT, NC, NE, NM, OH, OK, OR, SD, TN, UT, WI, WV, WY | AK, AR, AZ, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, WV, WY |
| 30 to 59 | AK, CT, GA, IA, KS, MO, ND, NH, OH, PA, VA, VT | CT, IA, MA, ME, MI, MO, ND, NH, NV, PA, VA, VT | AL, DC, DE, IA, ME, MO, ND, RI, VA |
| 60 to 89 | DE, ME | CO, DE, RI, SC, TX, WA | NJ, SC, TX |
| 90 to 119 | CO, DC, MA, MD, NV, RI | DC, FL, HI, NJ | WA |
| 120 to 149 | FL, HI, SC | None | CO, NY |
| 150 to 179 | None | MD | None |
| 180 to 269 | CA, NJ, TX, WA | CA, NY | CA, MD |
| 270 to 359 | NY | None | None |
| 360+ | None | None | None |
Excluding Rate Filings1,2
| Approval Time Range (Days) | Homeowners | Personal Auto | Commercial & Other Personal |
| 0 to 293 | AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY | AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY | AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY |
| 30 to 59 | DC, DE, MA, ME, MT, RI | CO, GA, MA, MD, NH, RI, TX | MN, MT, NY, TX, VA |
| 60 to 89 | TX | CA, DC, NJ, NY | CO |
| 90 to 119 | CO, NJ | None | CA, DC |
| 120 to 149 | CA, NY | None | None |
| 150 to 179 | None | None | None |
| 180 to 269 | None | None | None |
| 270 to 359 | None | None | None |
| 360+ | None | None | None |
- For states where the filing law is “file and use” or “use and file,” insurers may use the filing prior to the state issuing an approval/disposition.
- Includes filings with approval/disposition dates during the period 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026.
- Includes states exempt from filing.
The Q2 2026 edition includes data spanning January 2021 through June 2026, providing long-term trends and comparisons across states.
Download the Q2 2026 Edition of State Filings Pulse
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For additional information or a consultation, please contact Perr&Knight.
Source: Compiled from filings available through S&P Global Market Intelligence.
