Small businesses’ overall satisfaction with small commercial insurers rose 15 points (to 713 on a 1,000-point scale), driven by improvements in digital support and rates, according to JD Power’s 2026 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study that surveyed 2900 customers earlier this year.

The biggest gains resulted from improved digital channels (+29 points), price for coverage (+16 points), problem resolution (+16 points) and product/coverage offerings (+16 points), according to the study which examines overall customer satisfaction among small commercial insurance customers with 50 or fewer employees.

Seven core dimensions are examined on a poor-to-perfect rating scale (in order of importance: trust; price for coverage; product/coverage offerings; ease of doing business; people; problem resolution; and digital channels).

Erie Insurance ranked highest in customer satisfaction among small commercial insurers, with a score of 760. Chubb (746) ranked second and Allstate (732) ranked third.

One-third (33%) of small commercial insurance customers experienced a rate increase this year, down one percentage point from last year.

Among those who experienced a rate increase, 52% were attributable to insurer-initiated rate taking, as opposed to a change in coverage or exposure. That number is down four percentage points from last year.

Insurer-initiated rate increases are tightly correlated with declines in customer satisfaction, the study – now in its 14th year – noted.

The boost comes as insurers continue to invest in digital tools to aid customers in managing policies without having to speak with an agent.

The improvement in satisfaction is most noticeable among micro businesses with less than five employees that now have access that was not previously available because of such investment, the study outlined.

Overall customer satisfaction scores are highest (750) when both the insurer and agent completely understand the customer’s business, vs. 547 when neither does. This 203-point gap underscores the critical importance of business understanding, the report stated.

“The fact that fewer businesses are experiencing insurer-initiated rate increases is certainly helping to improve customer satisfaction, but the real story here is the trend toward significantly improved satisfaction with insurers’ digital channels,” said Stephen Crewdson, managing director of global insurance intelligence at JD Power. “Insurers have spent heavily on improved digital tools that make it easier for customers to engage and manage their polices any time, day or night, and those efforts are paying off in the form of higher levels of overall satisfaction. The trend is most significant among the smallest small businesses, which are now able to access a level of service that was not previously available to them.”