Car Insurance: AI Market Discovery Index

Tracking how AI platforms recommend car insurance. This public AI Market Discovery Index is updated monthly since May 2026.

By Mark Huntley, J.D.Growth Strategist & AI Discovery Analyst

6 minutes read

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On this page

01Benchmark Summary
02Current Benchmark at a Glance
03Research Scope and Qualification
04Current Brand Standings
05How to Read the Standings
06Recommendation Coverage Movement
07Largest Increase: Clearcover
08Largest Decline: The General
09Category Leader: Mercury Insurance
10Recommendation Placement Snapshot
11Buyer-Intent Distribution
12Historical Measurement Record

Benchmark Summary

Mercury Insurance led the Car Insurance index in September 2026 with valid recommendation coverage of 25.1%, ahead of Root Insurance at 21.9% by 3.2 percentage points. The largest coverage increase in September 2026 was Mile Auto, which rose 7.9 points from 11.1% in August 2026 to 19.0% in September 2026, a move beyond normal month-to-month variation. The largest coverage decline was The General, which fell 25.9 points from 25.9% in August 2026 to 0.0% in September 2026, also beyond normal variation.

Across the full series from May 2026 to September 2026, most tracked brands posted substantial gains in valid recommendation coverage. Mercury Insurance rose from 2.1% in May 2026 to 25.1% in September 2026, Root Insurance rose from 0.7% to 21.9%, and Mile Auto rose from 0.0% to 19.0%. The General, the baseline category leader at 8.6% in May 2026, declined to 0.0% in September 2026, with a new brand identity, The General®, appearing in the September data at 5.0%.

The benchmark began with 800 prompt-surface observations in each month and produced 279 qualified observations in September 2026 after qualification.

AI recommendation trend

valid recommendation coverage, May 2026 to Sep 2026

Mercury Insurance25.1%
Root Insurance21.9%
Mile Auto19.0%
Direct Auto Insurance18.3%
Clearcover10.8%
SafeAuto7.9%
The General®5.0%
Kemper Auto2.5%
Elephant Insurance2.1%
Branch Insurance0.7%
The General0.0%

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Measure	May 2026	September 2026	Movement
Qualified benchmark observations	140	279	Up 139
Tracked brands	10	10	No change
Qualified surface breadth	5	6	Up 1
Recommendation-shaped answer share	19.3%	40.1%	Up 20.8 points
Valid recommendation shortlist share	32.9%	54.5%	Up 21.6 points
Leader by valid recommendation coverage	The General	Mercury Insurance	Changed

Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI and search surface families with at least one qualified observation. The six families are ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Car Insurance

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design.

Research stage	May 2026	September 2026	What it represents
Source prompt-surface observations	800	800	Total prompt-surface observations collected
Unique questions	691	499	Distinct questions across the collection
Brand / competitor mentions	800	800	Prompts mentioning at least one tracked brand
Relevant observations	493	768	Observations on-topic for the category
Irrelevant observations	307	32	Observations outside the category scope
Qualified benchmark observations	140	279	Public denominator used in reporting

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Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for full qualification details.

Current Brand Standings

One note on brand identity: the September 2026 capsule introduces "The General®" as a separate tracked entity from "The General." This report treats each name as given in the measurement series.

Brand	Presence rate	Valid recommendation coverage	Top-three rate	Rank-one rate	Net sentiment
Mercury Insurance	47.7%	25.1%	11.1%	3.9%	0.61
Root Insurance	33.0%	21.9%	13.3%	5.0%	0.84
Mile Auto	22.2%	19.0%	11.1%	4.3%	0.92
Direct Auto Insurance	41.9%	18.3%	6.8%	4.7%	0.61
Clearcover	14.0%	10.8%	4.7%	1.1%	0.87
SafeAuto	19.7%	7.9%	2.5%	0.0%	0.60
The General®	13.6%	5.0%	2.9%	0.4%	0.66
Kemper Auto	5.0%	2.5%	1.1%	0.0%	0.79
Elephant Insurance	8.6%	2.1%	0.7%	0.4%	0.29
Branch Insurance	1.4%	0.7%	0.4%	0.0%	0.75
The General	Not measured	0.0%	Not measured	Not measured	Not measured

How to Read the Standings

Presence rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand is mentioned at all.
Valid recommendation coverage: Share of qualified observations where the brand appears in a valid recommendation shortlist.
Top-three rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand appears in the first three recommendation positions.
Rank-one rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand is the first recommendation.
Net sentiment: Positive minus negative mentions divided by total mentions, ranging from -1 to 1.

For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.

Recommendation Coverage Movement

Brand	May 2026	September 2026	Movement since baseline
Branch Insurance	0.0%	0.7%	Up 0.7 points
Clearcover	0.0%	10.8%	Up 10.8 points
Direct Auto Insurance	0.0%	18.3%	Up 18.3 points
Elephant Insurance	0.0%	2.1%	Up 2.1 points
Kemper Auto	0.0%	2.5%	Up 2.5 points
Mercury Insurance	2.1%	25.1%	Up 23.0 points
Mile Auto	0.0%	19.0%	Up 19.0 points
Root Insurance	0.7%	21.9%	Up 21.2 points
SafeAuto	0.0%	7.9%	Up 7.9 points
The General	8.6%	0.0%	Down 8.6 points
The General®	0.0%	5.0%	Up 5.0 points

Between August 2026 and September 2026, movement beyond normal month-to-month variation was limited to four brands. Mile Auto rose 7.9 points, from 11.1% to 19.0%. Clearcover rose 4.9 points, from 5.9% to 10.8%. The General fell 25.9 points, from 25.9% to 0.0%. The General® entered the tracked set at 5.0% coverage, having recorded no coverage in the three prior months of the series.

The remaining brands moved within normal month-to-month variation. Mercury Insurance's coverage moved from 21.3% in August 2026 to 25.1% in September 2026, leaving in place its sustained increase from a 2.1% May 2026 baseline. Root Insurance's coverage moved from 24.7% to 21.9%, extending a two-month pattern of easing since its July 2026 peak of 25.8%, while remaining well above its 0.7% May 2026 baseline. Direct Auto Insurance's coverage moved from 22.8% to 18.3%, extending a similar two-month pattern since its July 2026 level of 23.9%, while remaining well above its 0.0% May 2026 baseline.

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Largest Increase: Clearcover

Clearcover rose from 5.9% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026 to 10.8% in September 2026, up 4.9 points, a move beyond normal month-to-month variation. The brand has now increased in each of the three months since June 2026, rising from 0.0% in May 2026. Clearcover recorded 30 valid recommendation observations in September 2026, with a top-three rate of 4.7% and a rank-one rate of 1.1%.

Largest Decline: The General

The General fell from 25.9% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026 to 0.0% in September 2026, down 25.9 points. The brand declined in each of the two months since July 2026, when it held 27.9% coverage. The General® appears as a separate entry in September 2026 at 5.0% coverage, and the relationship between these two brand identities is not established by this benchmark.

Category Leader: Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance became the category leader in September 2026 at 25.1% valid recommendation coverage, up from 2.1% in May 2026. Its lead over Root Insurance at 21.9% was 3.2 points. Mercury Insurance appeared in 133 of 279 qualified observations in September 2026, with a top-three rate of 11.1% and a rank-one rate of 3.9%.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. Placement rates show where brands appear within recommendation shortlists.

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Brand	September 2026 top-three rate	September 2026 rank-one rate	May 2026 top-three rate	May 2026 rank-one rate
Mercury Insurance	11.1%	3.9%	0.7%	0.0%
Root Insurance	13.3%	5.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Mile Auto	11.1%	4.3%	0.0%	0.0%

Root Insurance posted the highest rank-one rate in September 2026 at 5.0%, while Mercury Insurance led the top-three rate alongside Mile Auto at 11.1%. Close coverage rates hide different first-position rates: Mercury Insurance's 25.1% coverage came with a 3.9% rank-one rate, while Root Insurance's 21.9% coverage carried a 5.0% rank-one rate.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

In September 2026, all qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation class.

Buyer-intent class	May 2026	September 2026
Brand Recommendation	140	279
Pricing & Value	0	0
Multi-Brand Comparison	0	0
Total qualified observations	140	279

The current public series measures brand-recommendation discovery and does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

Measurement	Qualified observations	Coverage leader	Leader coverage	Largest coverage movement
May 2026	140	The General	8.6%	Baseline month for the current series
July 2026	326	The General	27.9%	Direct Auto Insurance rose 23.9 points from May 2026
August 2026	324	The General	25.9%	Root Insurance up 24.0 points from May 2026
September 2026	279	Mercury Insurance	25.1%	The General down 25.9 points from August 2026

Evidence and Source Layer

The benchmark is built from prompt-level observations that retain the query, AI/search surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and, where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that the source caused the recommendation.

Scope Boundaries

This public benchmark does not measure market share, attributable sales, every possible AI response, organic-search ranking, social mention volume, private or sponsored channels, or causality from a metric movement alone.

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index tracks how AI and search surfaces recommend brands across verticals, using standardized prompt-level measurement and a transparent qualification funnel. Canonical research links:

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