The news: Auto insurance shopping fell to 12.6% in the second quarter of 2026, down 1 percentage point from Q1 and 0.4 points YoY, while switching climbed to 4.5%, up 0.3 points both quarter over quarter and YoY, per JD Power's Loyalty Indicator & Shopping Trends report, produced with TransUnion. 

The median annual premium among customers who changed insurers topped $3,200. JD Power framed the trend as evidence that affordability is increasingly determining which policyholders move and which stay put.

Zooming in: The market is splitting based on consumers’ ability to absorb higher premiums.  Those with more financial flexibility are able to continue shopping for better value. More financially constrained consumers, particularly younger drivers, are instead reducing coverage or letting policies lapse rather than shopping for a new rate, per JD Power, which described retention risk as tied to affordability and coverage persistence rather than price-driven switching alone.

That pattern aligns with separate data from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which found overall auto shopping growth cooled in Q1 2026. Non-standard auto shoppers, a segment particularly affected by rising insurance costs, posted negative quarterly growth for the first time since late 2023, per Insurance Business.

Implications for insurers: These findings point to an underlying risk: A growing pool of more financially constrained drivers may exit the insured market rather than switch carriers. That puts upward pressure on on uninsured motorist rates and residual market volumes, and it changes what retention means. Carriers built to compete on price and quoting speed are facing customers who are cutting or dropping coverage instead of deciding which insurer to choose.

For brokers, that makes affordability worth addressing with clients before a claim exposes a gap. A client who trims limits or considers a coverage lapse to manage costs is also more likely to be vulnerable to losses they cannot absorb, such as being underinsured against an uninsured motorist. A proactive conversation to confirm  adequate protection, even as a client cuts costs elsewhere, may help preserve the coverage clients need most.

Recommendations for insurers: One way to address the affordability challenge is to reduce premium pressure before customers scale back or abandon coverage. Telematics and usage-based programs can give lower-risk drivers a way to cut costs without dropping protection. 

Adoption still lags awareness: 78% of US consumers are familiar with telematics, yet just 26% have enrolled, per LendingTree. Closing that gap will require insurers to build trust with customers around how driving data is used and make the potential savings clear.

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