Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI
Year-over-year change in auto insurance premiums
Historically follows CPI Inflation Rate (All Items) by 3 quarters — no active signal. CPI Inflation Rate (All Items) · View projections
What is the current Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI?
Motor vehicle insurance prices rose 5.9% year-over-year as of February 2026, according to BLS CPI data (series CUSR0000SETD). While down from the June 2023 peak of 19.8% YoY, auto insurance inflation continues to outpace headline CPI by a wide margin. The cumulative effect means auto insurance premiums are roughly 50% higher than in 2020. This persistent cost pressure disproportionately affects lower-income households, where auto insurance represents a larger share of disposable income. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (CUSR0000SETD).
Auto insurance inflation is running at 6.9 percent year-over-year. Still nearly double the overall CPI rate and more than triple the pre-pandemic norm.
Before the pandemic, auto insurance inflation typically ran between 1 and 3 percent a year. Predictable. Slow. A routine feature of driving in America.
BLS data shows it at 6.9 percent in March 2026. That is down from the 14.2 percent peak in early 2023, the fastest pace recorded in the post-1980 series, but still running at roughly three times the pre-pandemic norm. Cumulative auto insurance prices are up more than 50 percent from 2020 levels.
The drivers are structural. Vehicles are more expensive to repair because they contain more sensors and electronics. Medical costs for injury claims continue climbing. Litigation and claim severity are both elevated. None of these reverse easily. The rate has cooled from its shock level, but the underlying cost base has not.
For households, insurance is required to drive legally. That makes it one of the hardest line items to trim when budgets tighten. The Repo Line shows auto loan serious delinquency continuing to climb. Households are keeping the car running, borrowing against the wire, and then losing it. The insurance surcharge is part of what pushes them there.
Explore Further
How has Motor Vehicle Insurance CPI changed over time?
Most affected counties
Counties with the highest housing cost burden scores in the County Distress Index.
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 6.94% | +2.1 pts |
| Feb 2026 | 5.89% | +0.1 pts |
| Jan 2026 | 5.48% | −0.4 pts |
| Dec 2025 | 5.6% | −0.6 pts |
| Nov 2025 | 7.15% | +1.4 pts |
| Sep 2025 | 7.68% | +2.8 pts |
| Aug 2025 | 8.5% | +4.4 pts |
| Jul 2025 | 6.54% | +1.9 pts |
| Jun 2025 | 5.15% | −0.9 pts |
| May 2025 | 5.12% | −2.1 pts |
| Apr 2025 | 5.56% | −2.0 pts |
| Mar 2025 | 4.83% | −3.4 pts |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much has auto insurance gone up?
Motor vehicle insurance prices rose 5.9% year-over-year as of February 2026 (BLS series CUSR0000SETD). From the June 2023 peak of 19.8% YoY, the rate has declined but remains well above the long-run average of roughly 3-4% annual growth. Cumulatively, auto insurance premiums are approximately 50% higher than early 2020.
Why is auto insurance so expensive?
Three factors drive elevated auto insurance costs: higher vehicle repair costs (parts inflation + labor shortages), increased claim severity (more expensive vehicles, advanced sensors), and higher reinsurance costs passed down from catastrophe losses. Unlike gas prices, insurance costs are sticky — once premiums rise, they rarely decline.
How does auto insurance inflation connect to the American Distress Index?
Auto insurance CPI is tracked as a context indicator for the ADI's Cost Pressure dimension. While not directly in the composite, it illustrates the gap between headline CPI and the costs households actually face — a dynamic the ADI captures through its healthcare and shelter inflation spreads.
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