Personal Auto Insurance Shopping on the Rise Despite Pandemic: TransUnion

August 27, 2020

Despite a temporary downturn in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, personal auto insurance shopping rates actually rose in the first half of the year, according to TransUnion’s 2020 Insurance Shopping Annual Report.

For the first two months of 2020, personal auto insurance shopping trended higher year-over-year, driven by increased vehicle purchases, more convenient shopping options and record industry advertising spending, TransUnion noted. But the situation took a sharp turn beginning the week of March 22, when shopping rates dropped as much as 14 percent.

However, the study found that while shopping bottomed out in April, it began to rebound in May and continued its rise through June, actually exceeding the monthly shopping rate of the two prior years.

TransUnion conducted an online survey of more than 3,000 U.S. auto insurance policyholders, aged 18 years or older, during the week of July 27.

Among the study’s highlights: