New IRC Study Shows Auto Accidents Are Down
31 January 2000
But, Claims for Injuries Are Up
MALVERN, Pa. -- There has been a dramatic drop in the frequency of auto
accidents over the past two decades. In spite of that, however, people are
now more likely to claim injuries as a result of auto accidents. Auto accidents,
as measured by property damage claims, decreased 17 percent from 1980 to 1998.
They dropped from 4.94 per 100 insured cars in 1980 to 4.09 in 1998. During the
same period, bodily injury claims resulting from those accidents soared 33
percent, going from 0.88 per 100 insured cars in 1980 to 1.17 in 1998. The
injury rate, however, has recently shown signs of improvement. After peaking at
1.22 in 1995, it declined in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
These findings are contained in a new Insurance Research Council (IRC)
study, Trends in Auto Injury Claims, that documents changes in auto accident
and injury rates every year from 1980 through 1998, for the nation as a whole,
each state, and territories within states. The study also examines claim
costs for the country and each state from 1987 through 1997.
"The good news is that we are seeing improvement in accident frequencies
as a result of a variety of safety measures, such as safer designs of cars and
roadways and active campaigns against drinking and driving," said Elizabeth A.
Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC. "However, the increased
propensity of people to claim injuries remains a serious concern, although the
recent improvement is encouraging."
The study also found that accident and injury rates, as well as claim
costs, varied broadly among and within the states. Massachusetts had the
highest accident frequency in 1998 at 7.06 property damage claims per 100
insured cars, compared with Wyoming which had the lowest rate of 3.05.
Massachusetts also had the highest bodily injury claim frequency at 2.29 per
100 insured cars compared with North Dakota's 0.20 rate.
For more detailed information on individual states visit IRC's Web site
at http://www.ircweb.org .
1998 State Claim Statistics
Rank State Bodily Rank State Property
Injury Claims Damage
per 100 Claims per
Insured Cars 100 Insured
Cars
1 Massachusetts 2.29 1 Massachusetts 7.06
2 Louisiana 2.08 2 D.C. 5.89
3 D.C. 1.95 3 Rhode Island 4.95
4 Rhode Island 1.85 4 Texas 4.85
5 Nevada 1.82 5 New York 4.64
6 California 1.74 6 Maryland 4.62
7 Arizona 1.63 7 Louisiana 4.59
8 Texas 1.60 8 Georgia 4.53
9 Maryland 1.58 9 Connecticut 4.46
10 South Carolina 1.54 10 Utah 4.46
11 Oklahoma 1.51 11 California 4.41
12 Washington 1.43 12 Missouri 4.41
13 Connecticut 1.40 13 Illinois 4.29
14 Oregon 1.38 14 New Hampshire 4.15
15 Georgia 1.35 15 Arizona 4.08
16 New Mexico 1.27 16 Florida 4.08
17 Arkansas 1.26 17 Oklahoma 4.06
18 North Carolina 1.22 18 Delaware 4.05
19 Delaware 1.18 19 Nevada 4.04
20 Missouri 1.16 20 Indiana 3.99
21 Illinois 1.13 21 Michigan 3.99
22 Virginia 1.12 22 Washington 3.98
23 Ohio 1.12 23 Ohio 3.97
24 New Hampshire 1.09 24 Oregon 3.96
25 West Virginia 1.08 25 Kansas 3.96
26 Indiana 1.02 26 Nebraska 3.93
27 Tennessee 1.00 27 Pennsylvania 3.89
28 Mississippi 0.95 28 Virginia 3.87
29 New Jersey 0.94 29 New Jersey 3.87
30 Utah 0.93 30 Colorado 3.82
31 Idaho 0.90 31 Vermont 3.74
32 Alaska 0.88 32 West Virginia 3.72
33 Maine 0.86 33 Tennessee 3.70
34 Wisconsin 0.83 34 South Carolina 3.68
35 Montana 0.83 35 Alaska 3.68
36 Florida 0.83 36 Arkansas 3.62
37 Alabama 0.80 37 Iowa 3.59
38 Nebraska 0.79 38 Kentucky 3.59
39 New York 0.79 39 Maine 3.58
40 Vermont 0.73 40 New Mexico 3.56
41 Iowa 0.71 41 North Carolina 3.56
42 Pennsylvania 0.70 42 Hawaii 3.46
43 South Dakota 0.63 43 Minnesota 3.43
44 Wyoming 0.60 44 Alabama 3.35
45 Kentucky 0.60 45 North Dakota 3.29
46 Minnesota 0.40 46 Idaho 3.27
47 Kansas 0.37 47 Montana 3.23
48 Colorado 0.36 48 South Dakota 3.16
49 Hawaii 0.33 49 Mississippi 3.14
50 Michigan 0.24 50 Wisconsin 3.14
51 North Dakota 0.20 51 Wyoming 3.05
Countrywide 1.17 Countrywide 4.09