Insurance Inflation Index: Car insurance prices rise 0.1%

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Auto insurance prices rose 0.1% in September 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That ends four straight monthly declines, including drops of 1.7% in May, 2.0% in June, 0.3% in July and 0.8% in August.

Prices fell 0.4% in January and 0.3% in February, held flat in March and edged up 0.1% in April before the spring and summer declines. April and September are the only months in 2026 in which auto insurance prices rose.

The slide in auto insurance inflation follows a sharp surge in car insurance prices through 2023 and into 2024. Monthly increases of 0.9% to 1.2% were common through mid-2024, and prices jumped 2.0% in a single month in January 2025 before the trend began to reverse.

Note: Data for October and November 2025 were not available at the time of publication, and motor vehicle insurance data for December 2025 were also unavailable.

What this means for drivers

September’s 0.1% increase is small, but it means the drop in car insurance prices has stalled. Four months of declines also didn’t undo the steep increases that came before them, so drivers are still paying more than they were a few years ago.

That makes it worth comparing quotes at renewal. Prices can vary widely from one carrier to the next for the same driver, so shopping around is one of the few ways to lower your bill without changing coverage.

A national average doesn’t reflect any one person’s premium. Rates depend on age, driving record, the vehicle, coverage limits and location, so two drivers can see very different numbers even when overall prices are moving in the same direction.

Other insurance segments

Health insurance prices fell 0.2% in September 2026, the 10th straight monthly decline. The drop was shallower than August’s 0.5%, but the direction hasn’t changed since December 2025. That’s a reversal from mid-2025, when health prices were posting gains of 0.6% in June and 0.4% in July.

Prices for tenants’ and household insurance rose 0.2% in September after holding flat in August. July’s 0.1% decline remains the segment’s only drop since January 2026.

The BLS doesn’t track homeowners or life insurance.

Nupur Gambhir

Managing Editor

 

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Nupur Gambhir is the editor-in-chief of Insure.com and a licensed life, health and disability insurance agent in New York with seven years of experience covering insurance. Her expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Balance, The Financial Gym and MSN. She holds a BA in Economics from The Ohio State University.