Looking for deals, consumers are increasingly shopping year-round for home and auto insurance, bucking seasonal trends and insurer expectations.
Elevated insurance shopping trends seen throughout 2024 and earlier in 2025 continued through the end of the year, prompting questions about whether the surge should be viewed as a temporary lift or permanent shift in consumer behavior, according to Q1 2026 Insurance Personal Lines Trends and Perspectives from TransUnion.
Auto and property shopping saw a year-over-year increase of 10.6% and 5.3%, respectively.
Q4 data showed shopping exceeded the usual end-of-year numbers and given the decelerating rate of growth in shopping reported throughout 2025, the TransUnion report suggests that the year-end increase indicates a significant shift in consumer behavior.
The transformation is driven by several factors, including the proliferation of mobile technology, making insurance shopping a quick online search; insurers increasing marketing spend; and cost-sensitive, rate-increase-weary consumers continuously looking to reduce household expenses.
Auto Insurance Shopping
Throughout 2025, auto insurance shopping continued to outpace the prior year’s activity. That growth trend continued into Q4, ending the quarter at 10.6% over the prior year. TransUnion analysis revealed an estimated 77% of consumers only shop one or two insurers, suggesting the majority will make quick decisions based on fewer comparisons. The remaining shop three or more insurers, looking for lower rates or more specific coverage options.
LexisNexis® Insurance Demand Meter found 47.1% of auto policies-in-force had been shopped at least once in the past 12 months as of Q4 2025, which translated to a 1.9-point increase from Q4 2024 and a 5.9-point increase from Q4 2023. Quarterly year-over-year U.S. auto policy shopping rose to 6.9%, and up slightly from the 6.4% increase insurers saw in Q3.
Shoppers 66 and older were the most active, achieving a quarterly year-over-year growth rate of 11%.
Shopping activity through the direct channel grew 12.6%, while the exclusive channel grew 5.3%, likely tied to increased ad spending. The independent channel continued experiencing a downward growth trajectory, dipping to -0.1.
Auto lending originations also grew a reported 5.2% in the second quarter of 2025, with new vehicle payments increasing 1.6% year over year through Q3 2025, while used vehicle payments rose 1.9% for the same period. Increased payment obligations may be one factor prompting shoppers to search more aggressively for auto insurance savings.
Property Insurance Shopping
Year-over-year comparisons during the last quarter of the year showed shopping activity for property increased 5.3% over the prior year.
Declining mortgage rates and robust equity positions among homeowners are helping keep property lending active. Mortgage originations increased 8.8% year over year as of Q2 2025 as interest rates fell from 6.91% in January to an estimated 6.15% by year-end. The drop created favorable conditions, which drove purchase and refinancing activity.
Early in 2025, the TransUnion data showed consumers with lower credit-based insurance scores were the primary drivers of property shopping activity. By year-end, shopping behavior pivoted to become relatively more balanced across all credit-based insurance score segments, with shopping activity evenly distributed among all generations throughout 2025.
The momentum in home purchases and utilization of home equity is expected to drive demand for property insurance well into 2026.
How insurers are responding
Several insurers are expanding their marketing efforts, with P&C insurance marketing up a reported 14.4%, driven primarily by personal insurance, according to the TransUnion report.
At the same time, many insurers are reducing auto premiums to increase their competitiveness, as auto rates dropped approximately 0.2% nationally at the end of Q3 2025.
The TransUnion report recommends that property insurers consider adopting a proactive approach before annual policy renewals, particularly for homeowners who have tapped equity funds, to confirm coverage levels align with any renovations or upgrades.
Access the full reports at Q2 2025 Personal Lines Trends and Perspectives Report and The LexisNexis Insurance Demand Meter.
Topics
Auto
Property
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