New Survey: About Half of Insured Americans Financially Stressed by Premiums
A new NerdWallet survey finds that 49% of Americans with auto insurance and 46% of those with homeowners insurance are stressed about the costs of their insurance premiums.
This survey also covers:
How many Americans have seen their premiums increase.
What they think about insurance requirements.
How they're dealing with rising costs.
Read the full report.
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After years of double-digit increases, home and auto insurance rates cool in 2025
As of the first quarter of 2026, U.S. home insurance prices increased 3.9% and auto insurance prices were up 2.4% compared to the same period last year, according to the most recent NerdWallet home and auto insurance pricing analysis. While some states (like Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota) continued to see unprecedented rate hikes heading into 2026, most experienced only modest rate increases or no increases at all — potentially signaling a "cooling down" of the U.S. home and auto insurance market.
For many homeowners and drivers, 2025 was a welcome departure after two consecutive years of steep premium hikes, resulting in cumulative increases of 18% for home insurance and 29% for auto insurance across 2023 and 2024. To put this into context, home insurance rates rose at more than double the rate of inflation and auto insurance rates increased at more than quadruple the rate of inflation during the same period, according to our analysis.
» DIVE DEEPER: Auto insurance | Home insurance | State of the industry
Auto insurance
The cost of car insurance
The national median cost of auto insurance in the U.S is $2,320 annually ($193 per month), according to our June 2026 analysis of sample auto insurance quotes provided by Quadrant Information Services for over 34,000 U.S. ZIP codes.
As of the first quarter of 2026, auto insurance premiums are up 2.4% compared to the previous year. While this modest increase may suggest a cooling market, it masks a harsher reality: Auto insurance premiums have increased 32% since 2023, according to NerdWallet's 2026 pricing analysis.
How much is car insurance in my state?
Our analysis shows that Louisiana, Florida and New Jersey are the most expensive states for auto insurance.
Meanwhile, Wyoming, Vermont and New Hampshire are the cheapest states for auto insurance.
Estimate your costs: Use NerdWallet's car insurance calculator to see median auto insurance rates in your ZIP code.
Why did my car insurance rates change?
You may be wondering why your auto insurance rates are so high. Here are some common reasons and how they can affect your rates.
Credit
For drivers with poor credit, the median rate for car insurance is $3,924 a year — 69% higher compared to those with good credit.
Age
Your age can greatly affect what you pay. Median rates for a 35-year-old with good credit and a clean driving record are $2,320 a year for full coverage auto insurance — significantly lower compared to 20-year-olds ($4,734) but higher than the median rate for 60-year-olds ($2,005).
Driving history
Drivers at-fault for an accident can expect to see 49% higher car insurance premiums ($3,449 per year) compared to those with a clean driving record. Rates for drivers with a recent DUI are around 89% more for full coverage, while those with a speeding ticket could see a 28% average increase to their premiums compared to those with a spotless record.
Type of car
The make and model of your car will affect your rates. The Subaru Outback, Subaru Crosstrek and Subaru Forester were the three cheapest cars to insure, among best-selling new models.
Some states limit what insurers can consider when determining car insurance rates. For example, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts block the use of credit in setting rates.
Home insurance
The cost of homeowners coverage
The national median cost of home insurance in 2026 is $2,490 annually ($210 per month) — a 3.9% increase from last year — according to our 2026 analysis.
How much is homeowners insurance in my state?
Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas are the most expensive states for homeowners insurance.
Hawaii, Vermont and Delaware are the cheapest states for homeowners insurance.
Estimate your costs: Check out NerdWallet's home insurance calculator to see how much average homeowners insurance rates are in your ZIP code.
Why did my home insurance rates change?
Where you live isn't the only factor that can affect your homeowners insurance rates. Here are some other common factors.
Credit
Homeowners with poor credit face average rates of $4,288 a year for insurance, a 72% increase compared to those with good credit.
Age of house
Newer homes can be cheaper to insure compared to older ones because they're typically built with modern materials that cost less to replace, among other factors. A house built in 2025 costs 75% less to insure on average compared to a home built 40+ years ago.
Amount of coverage
The amount of dwelling coverage in your policy — which pays to rebuild or repair your home after a covered loss — can significantly affect homeowners insurance rates. A policy with a $200,000 dwelling coverage limit costs an average of $1,478 per year — 69% cheaper than a policy with double the amount of dwelling coverage — while a home insured for $800,000 costs roughly 44% more in premiums compared to one with $400,000 in dwelling coverage.
Previous claims
Having a recent claim (within 3–5 years) can also have a significant impact on your home insurance premiums. Insurers have found that homeowners with certain claim types (like water damage, dog bites, theft) or small-dollar losses (a settlement amount less than twice your policy deductible) on their record are more likely to file future claims compared to those without those types of claims. Rates for homeowners with a single recent claim are 9% more on average compared to those with no recent claims.
Having poor credit increases your annual premium more than filing a claim on your policy does. If you're a homeowner with poor credit, consider shopping around for quotes to get the best rate.
Don't own a house? Explore NerdWallet's helpful resources on renters insurance and condo insurance.
State of the insurance industry
NerdWallet Insights
A majority of U.S. homeowners (54%) say their insurance premiums increased in the past 12 months, according to a 2025 NerdWallet survey conducted by The Harris Poll among more than 1,300 adults.
Response to rising rates
More than 1 in 10 homeowners (11%) say they’re considering getting rid of their homeowners insurance in the next year, an approach that could lead to financial disaster if their home is damaged.
Lying when applying
In 2024, a NerdWallet study found that more than 1 in 5 Americans (21%) admitted to lying on an insurance application. Of those who said lying was acceptable to get lower rates, 45% said it’s because they want to save money and 38% pointed to rates increasing too much.
Getting the best deal
Lying on an application or dropping coverage can have unexpected consequences. “Instead, find savings by asking your insurance provider about potential discounts, and shop around for better rates,” says personal finance Nerd Melissa Lambarena.
Why rates are changing
Insurance rates can fluctuate frequently, due to multiple economic factors. In recent years, rates as a whole have increased. Some insurers have stopped writing policies in money-losing states, like California, where regulators have made it difficult for insurers to raise rates. And in disaster-prone Florida, most major insurers have pulled out, significantly limiting the pool of insurers to choose from for residents in the Sunshine State.
Here's a look at three top reasons that cause insurance rates to change.
Inflation
Inflation has increased the cost of doing business for insurers, from rebuilding homes and repairing cars to covering more expensive medical costs. Because insurers have to pay out higher claims, they may raise premiums to help cover the added expense.
Climate change
Natural disasters are increasing in frequency, and few states are insulated from them. From wildfires on the West Coast to hurricanes affecting the East Coast, these events lead to more claim payouts from insurers. That's compounded by the fact that more people are moving to disaster-prone states like Florida and Texas.
Rising reinsurance rates
Insurance companies also need insurance, which is known as reinsurance, to help pay out claims. Reinsurers are typically global companies that respond to disasters worldwide, so even events far from home — such as wildfires in Australia and earthquakes in Turkey — can lead to higher premiums for you.
Many insurers will offer a discount if you purchase a home and auto insurance bundle from them. Although discounts vary, you can save on average 18% by bundling, according to NerdWallet's analysis of rates from Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide and State Farm.
Are your rates too expensive? Here are some top ways to get the cheapest car insurance rates and the cheapest homeowners insurance rates.
NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines.
- 1.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index: 2023 in review. Accessed May 20, 2026.
- 2.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index: 2024 in review. Accessed May 20, 2026.
Methodology
To calculate auto and home insurance rates, NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. These are sample rates, and your own rates will be different. We conducted the analysis of home and auto insurance pricing trends in May 2026.
Auto insurance
For auto insurance, we examined median rates for 35-year-old men and women for all ZIP codes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Although it's one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.
In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers.
We used a 3-year-old Toyota Camry LE for all drivers and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven.
Sample drivers had the following coverage limits:
$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Auto insurance rates shown on this page were updated in June 2026.
Homeowners insurance
For homeowners insurance, we calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from a variety of insurance companies. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$400,000 in dwelling coverage.
$40,000 in other structures coverage.
$200,000 in personal property coverage.
$80,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren't available.
Home insurance rates shown on this page were updated in March 2026.