Polly released its Q2 2026 Quarterly Embedded Auto Insurance Report, showing that insurance savings can now offset 90% of the average negative equity balance for car buyers — a critical tool as trade-in debt climbs toward record highs. The report also found that insurance engagement remains one of the most consistent levers dealers have for improving F&I performance even as national insurance rates hit their lowest point in nearly three years.
According to Edmunds, average negative equity reached $6,884, the highest second-quarter figure on record. During Q2 2026, the average annual savings for car shoppers who saved with Polly climbed to $1,245 a year, translating into an average of $6,223 in buying power or 90% of their average negative equity balance.
Dealerships that introduced insurance quotes during the purchase process saw a 20% lift in F&I gross, averaging $322 more per transaction compared to deals with no insurance engagement. When customers purchased insurance, deals delivered a 32% increase in F&I gross or $523 more per transaction.
“The data keeps telling us the same thing: Insurance engagement is one of the few levers dealers can pull that consistently improves deal outcomes without adding friction to the deal,” said Chris Pres, Polly vice president of automotive. “Whether rates are rising or falling, dealerships that make insurance quoting a standard part of the desk process are seeing the strongest, most predictable results.”
The report finds no evidence that quoting insurance slows down a deal. Across 661,486 retail sales from DMS feeds at 216 dealerships, median time from deal open to deal finalization was the same regardless of whether the buyer received a Polly insurance quote. Quoted deals were less likely to extend beyond a week. Thirteen percent of Polly-quoted deals took more than a week to finalize, compared to 16% of deals with no insurance quotes.
Among Polly’s top-performing dealership partners, F&I lift over the past 12 months ranged from 7%-62%, with half of the top 10 high-engagement dealerships seeing lift of 19% or higher across a range of makes, markets and franchise types. The top-performing dealership, a Nissan franchise in the Northeast, saw a 62% lift in back-end gross, or $1,391 more per deal.
Median monthly insurance quotes continued to ease in Q2 2026. That national decline is masking a different picture at the state level. Of the 36 states with tracked quote volume since 2021, 34 are still paying more for insurance today than they were five years ago, even after this year’s national pullback.
Increases are significant: New Jersey buyers are quoted 127% more than in 2021, New York buyers 123% more, Washington buyers 107% more and Tennessee buyers 98% more.
The full Q2 2026 Quarterly Embedded Auto Insurance Report is now available.
Article originally published on AutoSuccess
Author: Kyle Alexander