Ongoing advocacy aims to preserve favourable market conditions for Canadian businesses
Canada’s commercial insurance market continued its favourable run through 2025, with significant easing in renewal rates across all types of business coverages.
According to the professional services firm Marsh, it has now been over two years since premiums for commercial products went up in price. Marsh cites rising competition (from both domestic and international insurers) and increased capacity as key drivers behind the ongoing stability in market conditions.
Many insurance experts predict continued stability in 2026, which is good news for businesses preparing for a renewal.
Global professional services company WTW predicts that the Canadian commercial property market will remain highly competitive with favourable rates in 2026, especially for properties not exposed to the risk of severe weather events. Competition in the liability marketplace is expected to keep rates consistent.
Throughout 2025, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) continued to educate businesses about commercial market conditions and offer various resources for risk management. Through a number of reports, IBC also offered recommendations to help governments better address the challenges that threaten the stability of the commercial insurance market.
2025 Reports
In May 2025, IBC released a Commercial Insurance Market Update, providing businesses and other interested parties with relevant information about the state of the commercial insurance market. A similar update will be published in spring 2026.
As the cost of legal abuse drives up commercial liability insurance rates in the United States, IBC commissioned Dentons LLP to look at emerging litigation trends in Canada. In June 2025, IBC released a report Emerging Trends in Canadian Commercial Liability Insurance Market that found Canadian law firms are increasingly using third-party litigation funding to pay to pursue claims they would not have otherwise examined.
This alarming practice involves outside (and unnamed) investors funding lawsuits in return for a significant portion of any settlement. Third-party litigation funding is largely unregulated and seldom disclosed in Canada.
Cyber insurance continued to be a focus for IBC in 2025. In The Canadian Cyber Insurance Market report, IBC found that criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to craft sophisticated attacks. At the same time, most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain vulnerable and underinsured against cyber attacks. In the report, IBC highlights the urgent need for coordinated action across the public and private sectors to safeguard consumers, support businesses and ensure the long-term stability of the cyber insurance market. The report also sets out key recommendations to better protect Canadians from growing online threats.
Through IBC’s annual Cyber Savvy Canada public education campaign, it empowers SMEs to enhance their cyber resilience and make informed decisions about risk mitigation, such as adopting cyber insurance. The campaign includes a free Cyber Insurance Guide to help SME owners understand the impact of a cyber attack and how insurance can support recovery. It explains coverage details, offers protection and recovery tips, outlines the application process and shares resources to boost cyber resilience.
Commercial Trucking
Through its ongoing work to address lingering commercial insurance challenges in the commercial trucking sector, IBC provided testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in October 2025 regarding issues related to fraud and safety concerns in the sector. As part of its 2025 Federal Budget announcement, the federal government committed funding to address concerns about the illegal misclassification of commercial truck drivers, a fraudulent scheme in which some companies erroneously and deliberately misclassify their truck drivers as independent contractors instead of on-staff employees.
IBC’s Commercial Trucking Working Group continued to leverage its public policy recommendations to urge governments to develop cross-jurisdictional solutions that help deter fraud, improve driver training and protect all road users. This has led Alberta to launch enhanced entry-level truck driver training through a new Class 1 Learning Pathway for commercial truck drivers. The new program is designed to improve driver training and road safety and includes an apprentice-style approach to supporting new drivers in their continuous career development.
In November, the Alberta government also launched a new mandatory requirement for trucking companies to provide truck driver experience records. This change should help reduce insurance complications, particularly when truck drivers have issues proving their level of experience when starting a new job. This year also saw Quebec announcing that, starting on December 15, 2025, it would implement mandatory entry-level training pathways for commercial truck drivers seeking a licence. IBC also continues to actively engage with governments as they work to improve their commercial trucking training programs.
To round out the year, IBC released two additional reports – one that focused on the impact labour shortages are having on insurance claims and another on the need for the government to address the impact of the regulatory burden on the financial sector.
In 2026, IBC will continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders across the commercial sector and advocate on issues important to the success of Canadian businesses – the backbone of the economy. This includes advocacy to boost domestic trade, remove interprovincial trade barriers and support government policies aimed at reversing the current economic slowdown.
Any business in Canada with questions about insurance coverage is encouraged to visit IBC’s business insurance basics web page and/or contact IBC’s Business Insurance Helpline at 1‑844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422). IBC also offers a Q&A about Commercial Insurance Basics in PDF.
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