Are Car Insurance Rates Going Down?

In many places, yes. After several years of steep increases, national price data shows car insurance getting cheaper on average in 2026, and regulators in Florida and Texas have reported rate decreases from large insurers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measured motor vehicle insurance prices 5.1% lower in August 2026 than a year earlier ¹.

That does not mean every bill is falling. An average decrease across a state or the country still leaves room for many individual renewals to go up, for reasons tied to the driver, the car and the policy. This page sets out what the official numbers show, where decreases have been reported, and why your own price can move the other way.

The BLS consumer price index tracks what households pay for motor vehicle insurance. It rose 20.3% in 2023 and 11.3% in 2024, measured December to December ⁴. The increase slowed to 2.8% in 2025, which the BLS called the smallest December-to-December rise in the last five years ³.

In 2026 the index turned down. Before seasonal adjustment, motor vehicle insurance was 5.1% lower in August 2026 than in August 2025 ¹. The BLS said the index "declined 0.8 percent in August after falling 0.3 percent in July" on a seasonally adjusted basis ².

Keep the scale in mind. A decline of a few percent comes after increases of 20.3% in 2023 and 11.3% in 2024 ⁴, so it undoes only part of them. The index is a national average across insurers and states; it does not show what any one company charges.

On March 5, 2026, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) said the state's top five auto insurance groups, together 78% of Florida's auto market, were showing "an indicated average rate change of -8%" for 2026 ⁵. The OIR said nearly 80% of Florida's auto policyholders would see lower rates for 2026, and that for 2025 the same five groups "requested a total rate change of -7.4%" ⁵.

Those are averages the regulator calculated across groups and their existing policyholders. They are not the change any single driver will see. The OIR named the five groups as Progressive, Berkshire Hathaway (GEICO), State Farm, Allstate and USAA ⁵. We are not affiliated with the insurers named. More on how Florida reviews rates is on our Florida page.

In Texas, the Texas Department of Insurance said on October 8, 2026 that for auto insurance, companies filed rate decreases affecting 4.4 million policyholders since July 1, 2026 ⁶. The release gave two examples: Auto Club County Mutual Insurance Company filed a 3% rate decrease affecting about 235,000 policyholders, and Loya Insurance Company filed a 10.3% rate decrease affecting about 39,000 policyholders ⁶.

Note the wording: these are filed decreases, not a statewide average, and the coverage we read gave no average percentage for auto. Our Texas page shows recent filings from the department's own data.

An average decrease is the middle of a spread. Inside one filing, an insurer can lower rates for some groups of drivers and raise them for others, and the published percentage is the net result across its existing policyholders. Even if your insurer's overall rate went down, your renewal can go up for reasons that are specific to you.

• Your own risk factors. A new ticket or accident in the household, a newly licensed driver, a move to a ZIP code with more claims, or (in states that allow it) a change in your credit-based insurance score can outweigh a general decrease. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) lists driving record, claims history and where you live among the factors insurers weigh ⁷.
• Repair costs. Fixing cars is still getting more expensive. In the same BLS data, motor vehicle maintenance and repair was up 5.2% in the 12 months through August 2026 ¹. Physical damage coverage tracks those costs; see how repair costs push car insurance up.
• Claims. A claim on your policy can affect your price at renewal; the NAIC lists claims history among the factors insurers use ⁷.
• Lost discounts. A first-term discount ending, a bundle broken or a telematics score changing can raise the price even when base rates fall. See why car insurance discounts disappear at renewal.
• Coverage changes. A lower deductible, a higher limit, an added vehicle or added coverage costs more regardless of the market.

The other direction is possible too: a driver who ages into a lower-priced bracket, or whose old ticket drops off, may see a decrease larger than the average.

Start with the renewal notice and compare it line by line with last year's: drivers, vehicles, coverages, deductibles and discounts. If nothing changed on your side, ask the insurer whether a rate revision applied and which one. Then ask about discounts and, if you want, compare quotes on the same coverage. The NAIC advises getting quotes from several companies and comparing like policies ⁷.

Different insurers move at different times and in different directions, so a market where many insurers have filed decreases is a reasonable moment to check prices. You can compare quotes through our form. If you have questions about a filing in your state, your state insurance department can help.

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For the full list of reasons a price goes up, see why did my car insurance go up? For insurer-specific details, see the pages on Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, USAA and Allstate, and for state rules see Texas, Florida and California.

• ¹ Official record: BLS CPI Table 2 for August 2026, motor vehicle insurance down 5.1% and motor vehicle maintenance and repair up 5.2% over 12 months (not seasonally adjusted), checked October 11, 2026.
• ² Official record: BLS CPI release for August 2026, motor vehicle insurance index down 0.8% in August and 0.3% in July (seasonally adjusted), checked October 11, 2026.
• ³ Official record: BLS, motor vehicle insurance prices rose 2.8% in 2025, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: BLS, motor vehicle insurance prices rose 20.3% in 2023 and 11.3% in 2024, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: Florida OIR release of March 5, 2026, the indicated average rate change of -8% for 2026 for the top five auto groups (78% of the market), nearly 80% of policyholders seeing lower rates, and the -7.4% requested for 2025, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: Texas Department of Insurance release of October 8, 2026, auto rate decreases filed since July 1, 2026 affecting 4.4 million policyholders, and the Auto Club County Mutual and Loya filings, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁷ Official record: NAIC consumer article on the factors behind premiums and comparing quotes, checked October 11, 2026.