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Inflation check: Gas, cars, truck prices rising

The Consumer Price Index rose 5.4% in July, matching the prior month's gain as the fastest since August 2008, while prices at the producer level jumped 7.8%, the most on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Auto insurers face bumpy road ahead

Allstate reported this week that its property-liability combined ratio increased to 95.7 in the second quarter, nearly six points higher than during the same quarter last year. This ratio rises as underwriting losses and expenses become a greater percentage of premiums collected—not what investors want to see. The uptick was aided by increasing auto-accident frequency relative to very depressed levels during the pandemic.