3rd Look 2019: The Commercial Auto Insurance Marketplace in Massachusetts

The latest numbers on the state of the 2019 Commercial Automobile insurance marketplace in Massachusetts are in…

As with our review of the private passenger auto insurance marketplace, here is Agency Checklists’ second update of the year on the current state of the commercial automobile insurance marketplace in 2019.

All of the data presented here is provided courtesy of the Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers and represents the state of the market as of May 2019, the latest date for which there is complete data available. For those unfamiliar with the Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurer, “CAR” is the official statistical agent for motor vehicle insurance in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

A look at the market as a whole

Official data on the Commercial Auto Marketplace is now available from the Division of Insurance. According to the 2017 Report from the Division of Insurance, total Direct Written Premium totaled $855,021,922 in 2017, with a total of 191 companies writing commercial auto in the Commonwealth.

• Of that number, the top 20 companies wrote approximately $578,620,204 in Direct Written Premium, equaling a 67.7% share of the market place.
• The remaining 171 companies wrote $276,401,718 in Direct Written Premium which translated into a 32.3% market share.

For those interested in comparing this latest update with other information Agency Checklists has published on the Commercial Auto Insurance marketplace, please refer to the following reports:

• NAIC 2019 Market Share Report: The Top 25 Commercial Auto Insurance Companies In The U.S.
• 2019 MA Market Share Report: The Top Commercial Auto Insurance Companies in Massachusetts
• 1st Look 2019 – The Commercial Auto Insurance Marketplace In Massachusetts
• 2nd Look 2019: The Commercial Auto Insurance Marketplace in Massachusetts

Safety continues to claim the largest market share as of May 2019…Progressive continues to make a play for more market share here

Similar to past reports, Safety and Commerce continue to alternate being the leading commercial auto insurer during the year. While MAPFRE/Commerce had the higher market share percentage in our 1st Look, Safety took over the top spot in our 2nd Look report for March, and continues to do so as of our 3rd look at CAR numbers as of May 2019.

This mirrors the pattern seen over the past couple of years. If our readers may remember, in December 2016, Safety briefly had risen to the number one spot to overtake Commerce in the commercial auto insurance sphere. This was reversed by the end of 2017, however, with MAPFRE coming in at number one on this list. All in all, however, the first and second-largest insurers’ difference in this marketplace continues to be almost negligible in 2019.

Progressive also is increasing its market share in this line of business in Massachusetts. If you notice it did not appear on the top 10 list below as of 2009. By 2014, it had a 2.4% market share in 2014 which it has increased to a 4.43% market share as of March 2019. As of May 2019, it has increased its market share once again, moving from the seventh position in March to the sixth position, essentiall tied with Liberty Mutual.

The following is an excerpted list of the top 20 Commercial Auto Insurers in Massachusetts comiled by CAR and ranked by premiums as of May 2019:

COMPANY	PREMIUMS	MARKET SHARE
1. SAFETY	63,762,564	16.48%
2. COMMERCE	60,174,796	15.55%
3. ARBELLA	44,208,598	11.42%
4. TRAVELERS	30,909,806	7.99%
5. PLYMOUTH ROCK	20,943,778	5.41%
6. PROGRESSIVE	17,309,848	4.47%
7. LIBERTY MUTUAL INS	17,307,854	4.47%
8. FIREMAN’S	16,653,415	4.30%
9. TOKIO MARINE & NACHIDO	14,599,048	3.77%
10. HANOVER	13,978,013	3.61%
11. ZURICH	8,517,985	2.20%
12. TWIN CITY FIRE INS	7,327,782	1.89%
13. SELECTIVE INSURANCE	6,849,759	1.77%
14. NATIONAL GRANGE	6,523,919	1.69%
16. UTICA	6,065,841	1.57%
17. EMPLOYERS MUTUAL	4,138,132	1.07%
18. FARM FAMILY	3,750,240	0.97%
19. AMERICAN CASUALTY	3,664,930	0.95%
20. FEDERAL	3,620,749	0.94%

Graphs from May 2019, May 2014, and May 2009 depicting the evolution of this marketplace over the past decade

The following charts list the market share for the top ten commercial auto insurance writers in Massachusetts as of May 2019, followed by the top ten writers by market share five years ago as of May 2014, and then finally, as of May 2009.

These graphs are provided for those interested in seeing how the Massachusetts commercial automobile insurance market has evolved over the past decade.

MAY 2019

 

And how the market share distribution looked just five years ago:

MAY 2014

Now compare the above graphs with the top ten commercial auto insurance companies in Massachusetts from a decade ago:

MAY 2009