Insurance Isn't Just Getting Expensive.
        It's Changing the Motorcoach Business.

New Industry Data Shows Just How Serious the Pressure Has Become

By Danny B.

For years, motorcoach operators have been saying the same thing:

Insurance is getting out of control.

Until now, much of that conversation has been based on individual renewal experiences, conversations between operators, and stories of companies receiving increases despite relatively clean loss histories.

Now we have numbers.

And they're difficult to ignore.

The American Bus Association Foundation released preliminary findings from its new national motorcoach insurance study this week. The survey generated 260 completed responses from 320 participating bus companies and provides one of the clearest pictures yet of what insurance is doing to private operators.

The headline number says plenty:

98% of responding operators reported insurance premium increases during the past five years.

More importantly, 53% said their premiums have more than doubled.

That's no longer a handful of operators having bad renewals.

That's an industry problem.

$20,000 Per Bus Is Becoming Reality

Nearly half of responding operators—49%—said they now pay at least $20,000 in liability premiums per power unit.

For roughly one-third of operators, insurance represents 20% or more of their total operating expenses.

Think about what that means for a smaller company.

A ten-bus fleet paying $20,000 per power unit is looking at roughly $200,000 annually in liability premium before considering the many other expenses required to operate those buses.

That money has to come from somewhere.

And increasingly, it's coming from the customer.

Nearly 85% of operators surveyed said they have increased customer prices in response to rising insurance costs.

So when a school, church, tour company, athletic program or corporate customer asks why charter rates aren't what they were five years ago, insurance is becoming a significant part of the answer.

The Bigger Problem May Be Availability

Price isn't the only concern.

71.2% of operators reported fewer insurers willing to quote their businesses.

And 83.5% said insurance availability has worsened compared with five years ago.

That's potentially more dangerous than premium increases alone.

If ten insurance companies are competing for an operator's business, the operator has options.

If only two are interested, the conversation changes.

Eventually, the question stops being:

"How much will my insurance cost?"

And becomes:

"Can I get the coverage I need to operate?"

Operators Are Investing in Safety—But Premiums Keep Rising

Perhaps the most interesting part of the study is the disconnect between safety investment and insurance pricing.

98.5% of respondents reported using at least one safety technology, including tools such as telematics and electronic logging devices.

Meanwhile, 59.6% reported no major change in claim frequency over the same five-year period.

Claim severity is another matter: 45% reported an increase.

That distinction is important.

The preliminary survey does not prove insurance companies are unjustifiably raising rates. There are larger forces involved, including claim severity, litigation costs, reinsurance conditions and so-called nuclear verdicts.

That's exactly what the next phase of the ABA Foundation study intends to investigate.

But the numbers do raise an important question:

If operators are investing heavily in safety technology and most aren't reporting a major increase in how frequently claims occur, what exactly is driving premiums to increase this dramatically?

We need an answer.

The Number That Concerns Me Most

It's not 98%.

It's not $20,000 per bus.

It's this:

39% of responding operators said they have considered selling or closing their businesses as insurance and other operating pressures have increased.

That's nearly four out of every ten respondents.

Insurance is no longer simply another line on the P&L.

For some operators, it's becoming a factor in whether remaining in this business makes financial sense at all.

And when smaller operators disappear, the consequences extend beyond their owners.

There is less competition.

Less rural service.

Less emergency capacity.

Less equipment available during peak periods.

And eventually, higher prices for the people and organizations that depend on private transportation.

We Finally Have Data

There is still more research to come.

The ABA Foundation plans to examine insurer and broker perspectives, reinsurance, litigation, fraud, loss severity, regulatory issues and alternative insurance structures before reaching its final conclusions.

That's important because this conversation needs evidence from both sides.

But operators have spent years saying insurance is becoming one of the biggest threats to their businesses.

Now there are numbers behind those concerns.

53% have seen premiums more than double.

Nearly half are paying at least $20,000 per power unit.

Nearly 85% are passing those increases to customers.

And 39% have considered getting out of the business.

We should pay attention to what the final study finds.

Because if insurance continues moving in this direction, the question won't simply be how much it costs to operate a motorcoach.

For some companies, the question may become whether they can afford to operate one at all.

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References

American Bus Association Foundation — National Motorcoach Insurance Study, Preliminary Findings, August 2026. The Foundation's initial release provides the survey figures cited throughout this article and explains the next stages of its research.
Read the ABA Foundation's preliminary findings

METRO Magazine — “Rising Claims, Rising Stakes: Inside the Insurance Pressures Facing Motorcoach Operators,” March 18, 2026. Provides additional industry context on underwriting pressure, increasing claim costs and the factors affecting commercial motorcoach insurance.
Read the METRO insurance report

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About the Author

Dhinel "Danny" Biyanwela is a transportation operations professional specializing in fleet acquisition, refurbishment, maintenance strategy, logistics, compliance, and commercial passenger transportation. Through BTE Group LLC, he works with transportation companies, private organizations, and fleet operators to develop practical solutions for purchasing, maintaining, and operating commercial passenger vehicles.

He is also the founder and publisher of The Motorcoach Insider, where he writes about the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the motorcoach, charter bus, tourism, and private fleet industries.

Connect with Danny on LinkedIn.