The ability of an auto to withstand a crash has a direct bearing on the
cost to insure it. The more susceptible an auto is to damage, the more
expensive—even in a minor crash—it will be to repair. Other
factors, such as design and susceptibility to theft, also adversely affect
auto insurance costs.
Collision coverage results
Insurance company claim departments collect information on loss payments for vehicles that they insure. The data includes how often collision claims are made on specific types of vehicles and for how much. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) compiles these statistics annually.
HLDI’s best and worst collision coverage results for 1998–2000 models are provided. Findings show that the collision coverage claims experience does not change substantially from model year to model year, if the basic design remains essentially unchanged.
The differences in theft losses in the best and worst passenger vehicle categories show great disparity. Jaguar’s XK series average overall theft loss or average loss payment per insured vehicle year is nearly five and a half times greater than the best vehicle, the Pontiac Montana. And in the average loss payment per claim category, the Plymouth Prowler outpaces the Honda Odyssey with a loss payment of nearly five times that of the passenger van.
Large passenger and cargo vans tend to have the lowest insurance losses, while sports and midsize luxury models, and some midsize SUVs have the highest.
Vehicle size strongly affects collision losses. Smaller, sportier cars and midsize SUVs have higher claims frequency and average loss payments per claim.
Bumper standards
Bumpers that protect cars from damage in low-speed collisions aren’t a new idea. Around 1915, before automakers started equipping cars with bumpers, dealers supplied them as add-ons. Bumper tests conducted as early as 1931 had vehicles remaining damage-free.
The first federal bumper standard started with 1973 models when 5 mph front-into-flat-barrier and 2.5 mph rear-into-barrier requirements were introduced. The following year rear impact speed was increased to 5 mph.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a bumper standard requirement prohibiting all but very minor cosmetic bumper damage starting with 1980 models. The effects were dramatic. Cars were designed to withstand low-speed impacts with virtually no damage. Despite the success of this standard, the DOT bowed to pressure from automakers and rolled back requirements from 5 to 2.5 mph for 1983 and later models.
Current bumper standards specify that bumpers and safety-related equipment must withstand a 2.5 mph crash without sustaining damage. This applies to passenger cars only and does not include minivans.
2000 IIHS bumper crash tests
Bumpers should protect car bodies from damage in low-speed collisions, the kind that frequently occur in congested urban traffic.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts four tests to assess bumper performance. The first two, front- and rear-into-flat barrier, measure a bumper’s overall energy-absorbing capabilities. The impact is spread over the whole face of the bumper with no reason for any car to sustain damage in either test.
The other tests, front-into-angle-barrier and rear-into-pole, measure primarily the strength of the bumper reinforcement beam. These tests are more demanding because they are more representative of real crashes and involve concentrations of crash energy at specific locations.
Recent bumper tests are starting to prove that you don’t have to give up safety for size. The 1998 Volkswagen Beetle survived IIHS’ 40 mph test better than any small car it tested.
The chart below shows the results of some of the newer IIHS-tested models using the four different barrier tests at 5 mph.
Government crash tests
The government’s highway safety organization plans to crash test 113 new model vehicles with the first wave slated for completion in December, 2000. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) expects to test 82% of all 2001 models sold in the US for frontal impact safety. The test to be used is a 35 mph crash into a fixed barrier. Side impact tests are also planned. The side impact test consists of a “sled” weighing within 500 pounds of the tested vehicle being slammed in to the vehicle’s broad side at 38.5 mph.
Recent claim loss changes
Up to now, a car’s make and model had not affected personal passenger auto liability premiums, only those for collision and comprehensive coverages. At press time, at least two major auto insurers announced that they were raising liability premiums for some sport utility vehicles (SUVs), pickups and large vans based on company data. This data includes claims experience and losses sustained in crashes with smaller vehicles.
There is a movement underway by insurers to analyze claims and crash data and assign premiums according to a make and model’s safety record. Pickups and SUVs typically have below-average insurance claims losses under collision coverage but higher than average property damage liability losses, according to a study released by HLDI in February, 1998. Property damage liability claims for large utility vehicles are nearly one-third higher than the average loss payment for all passenger vehicles. On the upside, large SUVs have the lowest overall collision coverage losses, averaging about 40% below that of other passenger vehicles.
On the reverse end, companies are starting to price auto medical payments coverage based on the protection a make and model provides in a crash. This would likely benefit some of the vehicles being assessed additional liability premiums. Passenger vehicles with more advanced safety systems would also benefit from reduced medical payments premiums.
(The New York Times, 9/19/00)