Insurance costs are consuming a bigger share of household budgets across the United States, according to new industry and regulatory data released in 2026. The latest figures show homeowners insurance represented 2.4% of median household income nationwide through 2025, up 24% since 2020, while personal auto insurance represented 1.7%, up 9% over the same period, according to the Insurance Information Institute’s new Affordability Index.
That does not mean every premium is still rising month by month. Federal inflation data for August 2026 showed the motor vehicle insurance index was down 5.1% from a year earlier. But the broader picture for households remains expensive after several years of steep increases, and regulators are still building a fuller national picture of what comes next.
New 2026 data shows the scale of the cost surge
The clearest new marker came on Sept. 2, 2026, when the Insurance Information Institute, known as Triple-I, launched its state-by-state Insurance Affordability Index. The group said the tool measures insurance costs relative to household income using Insurance Research Council methodology and data through 2025. Nationally, it found homeowners insurance costs had climbed faster than auto coverage when measured against income.
Triple-I said the index also tracks market health and availability, including residual market share, excess and surplus market share, and rate approval times. Sean Kevelighan, Triple-I’s chief executive officer, said insurance costs differ because states face different catastrophe risk, legal conditions and economic pressure. Pat Schmid, Triple-I’s chief insurance officer and president of the Insurance Research Council, said premiums are tied to the underlying cost of claims, including higher costs to repair and replace homes and vehicles.
Federal price data adds an important distinction. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the motor vehicle insurance index fell 0.8% in August 2026 from July and was down 5.1% from August 2025. Even with that recent decline, the affordability data shows many households are still carrying costs built up over several years of earlier increases.
For residents, the practical issue is not just whether average prices are still accelerating. It is how much of a paycheck must go to required or hard-to-avoid coverage. Triple-I’s index is designed to show that pressure directly, comparing premiums with income rather than treating insurance as a stand-alone bill.
The tool also points to differences among states, though the national release does not make every local market claim on its own. Triple-I said state pages let users review premium-to-income trends, asset value comparisons and rankings for cost drivers such as catastrophe exposure, claim frequency and severity, repair costs, expenses and claims litigation. The organization also said some states face stronger availability pressure than others in homeowners coverage.
State regulators are working on a deeper map of those local conditions. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said in its 2026 Homeowners Market Data Call that insurers writing at least $50,000 in relevant premium were asked for data covering policy years 2018 through 2025. The requested data includes premiums, claims and losses by peril, cancellations, non-renewals, coverage limits, replacement cost and mitigation discounts, with ZIP code-level analysis intended to sharpen the picture of affordability and availability.
The causes identified in the 2026 source material are concrete, not abstract. Triple-I said replacement costs for homes and vehicles have risen faster than overall inflation since 2020. It also said catastrophe exposure, legal system abuse in some markets, and state-by-state regulatory conditions can intensify pressure on premiums and insurer participation.
Triple-I and Milliman, in their Insurance Economics and Underwriting Projections report, said the broader property and casualty industry entered 2026 in a stronger financial position after 2025. But the same report said replacement costs could still see significant increases in 2026, and that some lines will continue facing profitability hurdles into 2026 and 2027. In a separate 2026 release, Triple-I and Milliman said underlying property and casualty growth for the first half of 2026 was forecast at negative 3.7%, with recovery expected in 2027 and 2028.
The next major public checkpoint is already on the calendar. The NAIC said a public report based on its 2026 homeowners data call is targeted for release in early 2027, after validation, analysis and a public comment opportunity. That report is expected to offer a more detailed look at where insurance costs and coverage access are tightening most, down to the ZIP code level.