U.S. auto insurance shopping has remained near record levels despite a sharp slowdown in year-over-year growth.
Analysts at Atlanta-based LexisNexis Risk Solutions, an insurance data and analytics provider owned by RELX, calculated that 47.2% of U.S. auto policies had been shopped at least once during the 12 months ending June 30.
The comparable rate was a record 47.3% in the first quarter and 46.5% one year earlier. Year-over-year shopping growth was 1.4% during the second quarter, compared with 3.2% in the first quarter. New policy growth was 3.3%, compared with 3.6%.
LexisNexis analysts defined new policy growth as the rate at which consumers changed insurers or purchased coverage. They described both measures as “warm,” meaning growth remained positive but moderate.
Shopping activity was much higher in 2024. Year-over-year growth reached 31.2% in the third quarter as consumers responded to premium increases and insurers spent more on advertising.
Growth was 9.4% in the second quarter of 2025, 6.4% in the third quarter and 6.9% in the fourth. The rate was 3.2% in the first quarter of 2026 before falling to 1.4%.
LexisNexis analysts attributed much of the earlier surge to premium increases intended to cover higher claims costs, including vehicle repair and replacement costs. Increased advertising and easier access to online quotes also encouraged consumers to compare policies.
Although growth has slowed, the annual shop rate remains 6.2 percentage points above the 41% recorded in 2023.
“In this new market cycle, insurers are still pursuing growth but with greater discipline and clearer guardrails,” said Jeff Batiste, senior vice-president and general manager of U.S. auto and home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
Batiste said policyholders continue to shop in record volumes, requiring insurers to balance competitive prices against the risk presented by each customer.
Rate revisions were almost evenly divided during the second quarter.
Increases accounted for 38% of revisions and averaged 5.1%. Decreases accounted for 36% and averaged 4.5%. Analysts classified 27% as rate-neutral. The categories total 101% because the published figures were rounded.
Among the 25 largest U.S. auto insurers, increases accounted for a lower 30% of rate revisions. Analysts used rate information from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Widespread rate increases were more common in 2023 and 2024. During the first quarter of 2026, the combined effect of all rate revisions was a 1.1% decrease.
Consumers also changed how they searched for coverage.
Shopping through exclusive agents grew 6.8% year over year, compared with 5.6% in the first quarter. Exclusive agents generally represent a single insurance company.
Direct shopping through insurers’ websites, apps and call centres grew 4.6%, compared with 9.4% in the first quarter.
Shopping through independent agents contracted 6.4%. The contraction was 7.9% in the first quarter.
Exclusive-agent shopping growth exceeded growth through both the direct and independent channels for the first time since the second quarter of 2022.
Shopping among standard-market policyholders remained positive but grew more slowly. Shopping in the non-standard market, which generally serves drivers who do not qualify for standard coverage, was lower for the second consecutive quarter.
Policyholders aged 66 and older had the strongest shopping growth among all age groups for the 14th consecutive quarter.
Shopping among these policyholders grew 4.1%, compared with 7.1% in the first quarter. They accounted for 16.7% of shoppers, compared with 14.6% in the second quarter of 2020.
Analysts also examined whether listing a home for sale could identify older customers likely to change insurers. Among shoppers aged 66 and older, those with an active Multiple Listing Service home listing left their insurer at a rate of 23.2%. The attrition rate was 19.7% among those without a listing.
Shopping growth was highest in New York at 13%, compared with 11.8% in the first quarter. New Jersey followed at 12.5%, compared with 9.7%.
LexisNexis analysts used billions of consumer transactions collected since 2009. They estimated that the data represented nearly 90% of U.S. auto insurance shopping activity.
The analysts measured insurance shopping, switching and new policy activity. They did not measure collision frequency, claims severity or repair volumes.
