Gap Insurance: AI Market Discovery Index
Tracking how AI platforms recommend gap insurance. This public AI Market Discovery Index is updated monthly since July 2026.
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: Progressive
- 08Largest Decline: Progressive RV Insurance
- 09Category Leader: State Farm
- 10Recommendation Placement Snapshot
- 11Buyer-Intent Distribution
- 12Historical Measurement Record
Benchmark Summary
State Farm led the Gap Insurance benchmark in August 2026 with valid recommendation coverage of 78.8%, up from 70.9% in July 2026, when the brand ranked second in the category. USAA held the July 2026 lead at 74.1% and posted 78.1% in August 2026, a gap of 0.7 percentage points behind the new leader.
The largest coverage increase came from Progressive, which rose to 61.9% in August 2026 from 0.0% in July 2026, a move of 61.9 percentage points. The largest coverage decline was Progressive RV Insurance, which fell to 0.0% in August 2026 from 39.2% in July 2026, a drop of 39.2 percentage points.
This was a month of mixed movement across the category. Beyond the two large swings noted above, several brands showed significant changes. American Family rose to 33.4% in August 2026 from 0.0% in July 2026, while American Family Insurance fell to 0.0% in August 2026 from 23.0% in July 2026. Liberty Mutual rose to 44.7% in August 2026 from 35.3% in July 2026. State Farm's gain of 7.9 percentage points also registered as significant. Allstate, Erie Insurance, Farmers, Nationwide, Travelers, and USAA moved within a normal month-to-month range and are treated as stable on the primary metric.
The benchmark began with 800 prompt-surface observations in each month and produced 518 qualified observations in July 2026 and 302 qualified observations in August 2026 after qualification.
AI recommendation trend
valid recommendation coverage, Jul 2026 to Aug 2026
- State Farm+7.9% · beyond normal variationJul 202670.9%Aug 202678.8%
- USAA+4.0%Jul 202674.1%Aug 202678.1%
- Travelers+2.6%Jul 202664.9%Aug 202667.5%
- Progressive+61.9% · beyond normal variationJul 20260.0%Aug 202661.9%
- Allstate+5.7%Jul 202654.2%Aug 202659.9%
- Nationwide-0.9%Jul 202648.6%Aug 202647.7%
- Liberty Mutual+9.4% · beyond normal variationJul 202635.3%Aug 202644.7%
- Farmers+3.2%Jul 202640.5%Aug 202643.7%
- Erie Insurance-1.8%Jul 202641.9%Aug 202640.1%
- American Family+33.4% · beyond normal variationJul 20260.0%Aug 202633.4%
- American Family Insurance-23.0% · beyond normal variationJul 202623.0%Aug 20260.0%
- Progressive RV Insurance-39.2% · beyond normal variationJul 202639.2%Aug 20260.0%
Current Benchmark at a Glance
Measure | Jul 2026 | Aug 2026 | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
Qualified benchmark observations | 518 | 302 | Down 216 |
Tracked brands | 10 | 10 | Same count, different composition |
Qualified surface breadth | 6 | 6 | No change |
Recommendation-shaped answer share | 40.2% | 41.4% | Up 1.2 points |
Valid recommendation shortlist share | 72.0% | 78.1% | Up 6.1 points |
Leader by valid recommendation coverage | USAA | State Farm | Leadership changed |
Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI surface families with at least one qualified observation: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. All six families were represented in both months.
The brand list held at 10 tracked brands in both months, though the composition changed. July 2026 tracked American Family Insurance and Progressive RV Insurance as standalone entities; August 2026 replaced them with American Family and Progressive, respectively. All other tracked brands were the same in both months.
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For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Gap Insurance
Research Scope and Qualification
The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design. The table below shows how observations were processed in each month.
Research stage | Jul 2026 | Aug 2026 | What it represents |
|---|---|---|---|
Source prompt-surface observations | 800 | 800 | Total prompts collected across AI surfaces |
Unique questions | 647 | Not supplied | Distinct questions after deduplication |
Brand / competitor mentions | 800 | Not supplied | Prompts mentioning at least one brand |
Relevant observations | 566 | Not supplied | Prompts relevant to the vertical |
Irrelevant observations | 234 | Not supplied | Prompts outside the vertical scope |
Qualified benchmark observations | 518 | 302 | Public denominator after all filtering |
Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for full details.
Current Brand Standings
This table is the primary current-month benchmark view, sorted by valid recommendation coverage.
Brand | Presence rate | Valid recommendation coverage | Top-three rate | Rank-one rate | Net sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State Farm | 99.7% | 78.8% | 48.0% | 36.8% | 0.8 |
USAA | 97.7% | 78.1% | 21.9% | 8.6% | 0.8 |
Travelers | 86.4% | 67.5% | 28.8% | 13.6% | 0.8 |
Progressive | 86.8% | 61.9% | 33.1% | 2.3% | 0.7 |
Allstate | 86.1% | 59.9% | 17.2% | 0.7% | 0.7 |
Nationwide | 66.9% | 47.7% | 4.3% | 1.0% | 0.7 |
Liberty Mutual | 67.2% | 44.7% | 5.3% | 0.3% | 0.7 |
Farmers | 65.2% | 43.7% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.6 |
Erie Insurance | 49.0% | 40.1% | 5.3% | 1.7% | 0.8 |
American Family | 45.4% | 33.4% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 0.7 |
American Family Insurance and Progressive RV Insurance were tracked in July 2026 but were not part of the August 2026 brand set; their July figures appear in the Recommendation Coverage Movement table below.
How to Read the Standings
- Presence rate is the share of qualified observations in which the brand is mentioned at all.
- Valid recommendation coverage is the share of qualified observations in which the brand receives a valid recommendation.
- Top-three rate is the share of qualified observations in which the brand appears among the top three recommended options.
- Rank-one rate is the share of qualified observations in which the brand is the first recommendation.
- Net sentiment scores the tone of brand mentions on a scale from negative to positive.
Want the full Authority Index
The paid deep-dive adds competitor threat profiles, the gap matrix, citation failure map, platform-by-platform recovery roadmap, and client-specific economic modeling.
For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.
Recommendation Coverage Movement
Brand | Jul 2026 | Aug 2026 | Movement since baseline |
|---|---|---|---|
Allstate | 54.2% | 59.9% | Up 5.7 points |
American Family | 0.0% | 33.4% | Up 33.4 points |
American Family Insurance | 23.0% | 0.0% | Down 23.0 points |
Erie Insurance | 41.9% | 40.1% | Down 1.8 points |
Farmers | 40.5% | 43.7% | Up 3.2 points |
Liberty Mutual | 35.3% | 44.7% | Up 9.4 points |
Nationwide | 48.6% | 47.7% | Down 0.9 points |
Progressive | 0.0% | 61.9% | Up 61.9 points |
Progressive RV Insurance | 39.2% | 0.0% | Down 39.2 points |
State Farm | 70.9% | 78.8% | Up 7.9 points |
Travelers | 64.9% | 67.5% | Up 2.6 points |
USAA | 74.1% | 78.1% | Up 4.0 points |
American Family, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, and State Farm registered significant increases this month, while American Family Insurance and Progressive RV Insurance registered significant declines. Allstate, Erie Insurance, Farmers, Nationwide, Travelers, and USAA moved within a normal range and are treated as stable.
Largest Increase: Progressive
Progressive rose to 61.9% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026 from 0.0% in July 2026, an increase of 61.9 percentage points. The brand was present in 86.8% of August 2026 observations with a top-three rate of 33.1% and a rank-one rate of 2.3%. This was the single largest coverage increase in the benchmark this month. The August 2026 figure reflects 187 valid recommendation observations out of 302 qualified observations.
Largest Decline: Progressive RV Insurance
Progressive RV Insurance fell to 0.0% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026 from 39.2% in July 2026, a decline of 39.2 percentage points. The brand was not tracked as a separate entity in August 2026; the August capsule tracks Progressive as a standalone brand. The July 2026 baseline reflected 203 valid recommendation observations out of 518 qualified observations.
Category Leader: State Farm
State Farm held the top position with 78.8% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026, up from 70.9% in July 2026, when the brand ranked second behind USAA (74.1%). State Farm also led in presence rate at 99.7%, top-three rate at 48.0%, and rank-one rate at 36.8% in August 2026. The gap to USAA, the current second-place brand, was 0.7 percentage points.
Recommendation Placement Snapshot
Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. The table below compares top-three and rank-one rates for the leading brands.
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Brand | Aug 2026 top-three rate | Aug 2026 rank-one rate | Jul 2026 top-three rate | Jul 2026 rank-one rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
State Farm | 48.0% | 36.8% | 38.8% | 25.5% |
USAA | 21.9% | 8.6% | 24.9% | 8.1% |
Travelers | 28.8% | 13.6% | 15.1% | 7.7% |
Progressive | 33.1% | 2.3% | Not tracked | Not tracked |
State Farm converted its coverage into first-position recommendations at a far higher rate than the other brands shown here. USAA's top-three rate moved from 24.9% to 21.9% between July 2026 and August 2026 while its rank-one rate held close to flat, moving from 8.1% to 8.6%. Travelers' top-three rate moved from 15.1% to 28.8% and its rank-one rate moved from 7.7% to 13.6% over the same span. Close coverage between the two leading brands can still hide very different first-position rates.
Buyer-Intent Distribution
All qualified observations in both months fell into the Brand Recommendation class. The current public series measures brand-recommendation discovery and does not yet contain qualified observations in the other buyer-intent classes.
Buyer-intent class | Jul 2026 | Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Brand Recommendation | 518 | 302 |
Pricing & Value | 0 | 0 |
Multi-Brand Comparison | 0 | 0 |
Total qualified observations | 518 | 302 |
Historical Measurement Record
This is an evergreen benchmark URL. New measurements are added to the same report.
Measurement | Qualified observations | Coverage leader | Leader coverage | Largest coverage movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 2026 | 518 | USAA | 74.1% | Baseline month |
Aug 2026 | 302 | State Farm | 78.8% | Progressive up 61.9 points |
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, or private/sponsored channels. A metric movement alone does not establish causality. The benchmark cannot distinguish platform behavior from measurement effects, and it does not establish why any brand's standing moved.
About This Benchmark
The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index is a neutral, industry-level benchmark tracking how AI and search surfaces recommend brands across canonical surface families. All figures are drawn from audited monthly measurement capsules.
- AI Market Discovery Index
- AI Market Discovery Methodology
- AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions
- AI Market Discovery Research Standards
- Modeled AI Authority Value
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