The BLS doesn't measure direct consumer costs such as monthly premiums. That's because those premiums don't buy the same quality of insurance. Benefits and risk factors vary from policy to policy, for example.
But consumers used their insurance more often in 2021. Insurers' aggregate profits shrank because they paid out more insurance benefits relative to 2020. Hence, the monthly inflation readings flipped negative. When assessing inflation trends, policymakers tend to prefer a gauge that strips out food and energy prices, which can be volatile. This measure is known as"core" inflation.
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