Auto insurance premium hikes supercharge new policy shopping

LexisNexis credited the spike in shopping and purchasing to premium increases in both auto and home insurance policies, along with increased marketing by insurance companies.

With more than half of auto insurance shoppers owning a home or condo, the data showed rate increases in the home insurance market are helping fuel shopping and switching for many consumers.

Other key takeaways from the study include:

• By the end of Q2, the annual shop rate had risen to a record 42.3%, led by four states with annual year-to-date shop rates over 50% (Texas, Florida, Georgia and Arizona.)
• At the end of the quarter, 21% of the auto policies-in-force were written in the last 12 months.
• Carriers reinstated marketing and new business lead purchasing in Q2 to take advantage of rate-driven shoppers that included both non-standard and long-tenured customers. Direct-to-consumer (non-agent based) distribution channels grew 38%, while captive agent and independent agent channels grew 2.4% and 8.9%, respectively.
• New policy volumes dipped slightly from May to June, causing shopping growth to outpace new policy growth in June for the first time since April 2023.

“Consumers have shown a heightened sensitivity to price and predisposition to combined personal line shopping that could give carriers an opportunity to capitalize further,” said Chris Rice, LexisNexis Risk Solutions vice president of strategic business intelligence. “Given the anticipatory action from carriers regarding marketing efforts this quarter, matched by the positive consumer reception, there is reason to believe that heightened shopping activity will continue.”