Insurance Inflation Index: Car insurance rates level off

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Auto insurance prices, which fell through the early months of 2026, edged up 0.1% in April 2026 — a modest uptick that suggests rates have leveled off after a run of declines.

That’s a clear shift from early 2024, when premiums were rising at double-digit annual rates. Prices fell 0.4% in January and 0.3% in February, were flat in March, then rose 0.1% in April. After several months of declines, that small increase suggests prices are stabilizing rather than climbing again.

The slowdown in auto insurance inflation is welcome news for consumers, who saw car insurance prices surge sharply through 2023 and into 2024. Monthly increases of 0.9% to 1.2% were common through mid-2024 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

Even with rates leveling off, drivers are still paying more than they were a few years ago. The recent slowdown stops prices from climbing further, but it doesn’t undo the increases that came before it.

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 a bill without changing coverage.

It also helps to remember that no index reflects any one person’s premium. Rates depend on factors like age, driving record, the vehicle, coverage limits and location, so two drivers can see very different numbers even when overall prices are flat.

Other insurance segments

Health insurance prices fell 0.4% in April 2026, a notably smaller drop than the declines of 1.0% or more recorded in each of the prior four months — including a 1.4% decline in March. The shallower decrease suggests the steep slide that began in late 2025 may be moderating, a sharp contrast with the modest 0.3% to 0.6% monthly increases seen through mid-2025.

Prices for tenants’ and household insurance rose 0.1% in April, easing from a 0.9% increase in March. The segment has remained volatile, swinging from a 1.0% gain in December 2025 to a slight dip in January before returning to growth. Renters insurance had shown notable monthly increases of around 1.0% to 1.2% in the late summer and fall of 2025.

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.