Three Critical Data Gaps Impacting Commercial Auto Profitability

By Gavin Mills ARM, CPCU, Jane Shaughnessy

November 25, 2025 / 2 min read

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The years-long string of losses in commercial auto insurance has resisted the effects of rate increases, pushing the industry to scrutinize underwriting and risk selection in search of profitability. Three challenges now present obstacles to success in a business line where combined ratios have exceeded 100 since 2011.

Incomplete or faulty information on insured vehicles

A particular challenge in the current environment is capturing the cost new for commercial vehicles, especially given recent tariff-related price increases. Users of Verisk’s CL VIN Decode see a field labeled “MSRP decoded,” which marks a capability that exceeds any other in the market to provide granular vehicle cost data. It’s one of a range of relevant data points, including body type, gross vehicle weight, registration details, and more, that can affect profitability and that integrate seamlessly with the ISO class plan.

Even slight errors can directly affect premium and lead to leakage. Automated capture of vehicle attributes with tools such as CL VIN Decode and Vehicle Registration Reports, which provides registration details, can help keep a book of business profitable.

Worsening collision loss ratios

Higher loss ratios for collision reflect multiple factors. Among them, inaccurate information on vehicles’ operating radius can cause premium leakage when vehicles travel beyond their rated zones that are based on local use. Tools such as RadiusCheck, which identifies vehicles that exceed the stated radius, can help insurers adjust with non-rate actions that precisely target the problem. Recent sampling for one top-20 carrier showed 42% of insured vehicles traveling outside their operating radius, meaning that portion of the book was underpriced by about 33%.

Inadequate understanding of business risks

When an insurer doesn’t fully grasp the nature of the business that operates an insured vehicle, it can be a substantial blind spot in understanding the risk. Connecting to an ecosystem of underwriting data, beyond the vehicles themselves, can empower carriers with insights to refine risk selection and pricing. LightSpeed^® Small Commercial can be a one-stop source for granular firmographic information on commercial auto insureds, including their business classifications, employee counts, sales, revenues, and more.

The Verisk ecosystem spans a range of tools to boost commercial auto underwriting speed and accuracy, including:

Commercial Vehicle Prefill to quickly match vehicle identification numbers (VINs) with the owner’s business
Motor Vehicle Reports supplemented with diverse data sources to capture comprehensive safety records of insured drivers
ISO Risk Analyzer Commercial Auto to help insurers underwrite, rate, and enhance preexisting analytics with granular data and predictive modeling.

All of this can add up to faster, more confident quoting with fewer data points for agents or applicants to chase down—in short, a better customer experience that helps attract and retain profitable business.

Learn more about commercial auto insurance underwriting solutions built for your greatest challenges.

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