---
title: "Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI)"
slug: the-coverage-tax
summary: "Motor vehicle insurance inflation ran 8.7 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026"
category: "Prices"
unit: percentage_points
frequency: monthly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: -8.7005
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: falling
last_updated: "2026-10-14T00:00:00Z"
source: "Computed from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI and All Items CPI"
measurement_basis: "Percentage-point difference between year-over-year changes in the seasonally adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI (CUSR0000SETE) and seasonally adjusted all-items CPI-U (CPIAUCSL); seasonally adjusted values may be revised"
source_url: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SETE
source_urls:
  - https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SETE
  - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/."
---

# Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI)

Also tracked as The Coverage Tax.

> Motor vehicle insurance inflation ran 8.7 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI) is **-8.7 percentage points** (falling — improving for households).

motor vehicle insurance CPI inflation minus overall CPI inflation, 12 months to September 2026

## What Changed

- Motor vehicle insurance inflation ran 8.7 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026, down from a reading of 0.1 percentage points in September 2025.
- A month earlier, in August 2026, the gap was higher, at -8.5 percentage points.
- The lowest reading since June 2020.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | -8.7 pp |
| 2026-08 | -8.48 pp |
| 2026-07 | -7.76 pp |
| 2026-06 | -7.57 pp |
| 2026-05 | -6.18 pp |
| 2026-04 | -3.58 pp |
| 2026-03 | -2.52 pp |
| 2026-02 | -2.27 pp |
| 2026-01 | -1.85 pp |
| 2025-12 | 0.17 pp |
| 2025-09 | 0.13 pp |
| 2025-08 | 1.68 pp |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2001: **19.3 percentage points** in April 2024
- Low since 2001: **-14.5 percentage points** in May 2020
- Pre-pandemic average (2015-01 – 2019-12): **4 percentage points**
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **4.3 percentage points**

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: Computed from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI and All Items CPI.
Measurement basis: Percentage-point difference between year-over-year changes in the seasonally adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI (CUSR0000SETE) and seasonally adjusted all-items CPI-U (CPIAUCSL); seasonally adjusted values may be revised
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Computed from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI and All Items CPI
- [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SETE](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SETE)
- [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [cpi-inflation-rate-all-items](https://americandefault.org/indicators/cpi-inflation-rate-all-items/)
- [motor-vehicle-insurance-cpi](https://americandefault.org/indicators/motor-vehicle-insurance-cpi/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/the-coverage-tax.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/the-coverage-tax.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-coverage-tax.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-coverage-tax.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Auto Insurance Inflation Premium (Auto CPI minus Overall CPI)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-coverage-tax/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.