Use of lighter-weight vehicles stems higher injury claims cost

The cost of auto injury claims in the United States involving lighter-weight vehicles tends to be higher than the cost of claims involving heavy vehicles, according to a new report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC).
To investigate the potential impact of rising gas prices on insurance claims costs, IRC analyzed 9,140 personal injury protection (PIP) claims closed with payment in 2007.
Only claims involving automobiles, mini-vans and sport utility vehicles were examined; claims involving fatalities or permanent total disabilities were excluded to eliminate the distorting effects of these few claims on average cost calculations, an IRC release says.
Of all vehicles involved in PIP claims closed in 2007, 25% weighed 2,771 pounds or less, and another 25% weighed 3,726 pounds or more. The average payment for claims in the lighter-weight group was US$5,554 14% more than the US$4,859 average payment for claims in the higher-weight group, the release adds.
Among the claimants in heavier vehicles, 46% lost no time from work following their accidents. In contrast, only 38% of claimants in the lighter-weight vehicles lost no time from work.
Claimants injured in lighter-weight vehicles were also 12% more likely to be hospitalized following their injury than were claimants in heavier vehicles, the IRC notes.
“The impact of higher gas prices on drivers, accident severity and insurance costs is anything but simple,” said Elizabeth A. Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC. “Our findings indicate that higher average claims costs associated with lighter vehicles have the potential to offset, to some extent, whatever beneficial effects might occur from less driving. It’s far too early to know how all of these effects together will influence insurance claims costs.”