LexisNexis' Batra: Auto Insurance Shopping Remains Near Record Highs

Reena, what are some key findings from the latest LexisNexis U.S. Insurance Demand Meter? And what do they reveal about the current state of auto insurance shopping?

So Lori, in the latest version of the demand meter, there's a lot to unpack.

Let's start with the fact that the annual shop rate in the second quarter of 2026 was 47.2, meaning nearly half of all policies were shopped at least once during the previous 12 months.

So consumers are still actively shopping.

I think the most important thing to recognize is that shopping activity has evolved from a response to rising premiums and bills they're getting in the mail into a more permanent feature of the auto insurance market.

While shopping growth has moderated from the levels we saw in 2025, overall shopping volumes remain near historic highs.

That tells us and tells me that the consumer behavior has fundamentally changed, which is what we get into a lot more in the report as we dive into it.

Well, auto insurance shopping growth slowed to 1.4% in the second quarter, down from 3.2% in the prior quarter, but remained in warm territory.

Reena, what factors are keeping shopping activity elevated despite this moderation?

Yeah, the growth did slow from the previous quarter, but the fact of the matter is we're hurtling high volumes that we saw in 2025.

So when you have high volumes of shopping activity in 2025, it requires a lot more activity in 2026 to see those high growth rates we saw in 2025.

So while the growth has slowed, the volume actually is at its highest it's ever been.

If you are familiar with our demand meter and you're familiar with the main chart where we have the warm territory marked out along with the growth rates, we added a new line into that chart to show the volume of shopping.

And you can see how strong that volume is and where it has come from over the last few years.

And you see that it's at its peak.

I mean, there's ebbs and flows, little dips here and there.

But if you look at it overall, the volume is significant.

and continues to be at that level.

This helps to show that, in our view, shopping has become more structural.

Rates are coming down, but shopping is not following those rate drops, right? It's continuing to increase.

What's keeping shopping elevated? I think a few things.

First, affordability pressures remain significant.

Even as premiums for insurance are slowing, the increases are slowing, consumers are still managing higher prices for gas, higher vehicle prices, repair costs, and overall higher costs of ownership.

Second, we're seeing shopping expand in consumer segments that historically were very loyal, particularly that older and longer tenured policyholder.

Third, consumers have been much more comfortable using digital channels and comparing options, making shopping easier than ever before.