Car insurance claim statistics show two different stories: claim frequency often fell or fluctuated, while the cost of many claims rose. The figures below cover U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, with periods, units, coverage definitions, and source limitations stated for each measure.
Key Car Insurance Claim Statistics
The most broadly useful figures in this overview are:
- In 2024, bodily-injury liability claim frequency was 0.80 claims per 100 earned car years in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, with $28,278 severity.
- In 2024, property-damage liability claim frequency was 2.50 claims per 100 earned car years in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, with $6,770 severity.
- In 2024, collision claim frequency was 4.16 claims per 100 earned car years in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, with $5,489 severity.
- In 2024, comprehensive claim frequency was 3.95 claims per 100 earned car years in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, with $2,306 severity.
- In 2020, bodily-injury liability severity was $20,769 per claim in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, while frequency was 0.78 per 100 earned car years.
- In 2021, bodily-injury liability severity was $23,592 per claim in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, while frequency was 0.68 per 100 earned car years.
- In 2022, bodily-injury liability severity was $24,681 per claim in U.S. private-passenger auto insurance, while frequency was 0.70 per 100 earned car years.
- In 2023, 15.4% of U.S. drivers were estimated to be uninsured, according to the Insurance Research Council analysis.
- In 2023, 18.0% of U.S. drivers were estimated to be underinsured in the same U.S. analysis.
- In 2023, UIM claim frequency reached 0.17 claims per 100 insured vehicles in the United States.
- In 2023, private-passenger auto liability incurred losses were $125,670.793 million in the United States.
- In 2024, private-passenger auto liability incurred losses were $132,012.369 million in the United States.
- In 2023, private-passenger physical-damage incurred losses were $95,379.852 million in the United States.
- In 2024, private-passenger physical-damage incurred losses were $89,499.857 million in the United States.
- In 2021, average incurred loss per collision claim rose 18.6% from $5,185 in 2020 to more than $6,150 in the United States.
- In 2022, the national combined average premium per issued vehicle was $1,258, up 5.75% from 2021 in the United States.
- From 2018 to 2022, liability premiums grew 8.61% while insured vehicles grew 5.9% in the United States.
Contents:
- Bodily-injury and property-damage liability trends
- Collision claim frequency and severity
- Comprehensive claim frequency and losses
- Auto insurance incurred losses and market scale
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist data
- Definitions and measurement limits
Bodily-Injury and Property-Damage Liability Claim Trends
Liability coverage measures claims against a driver for harm to other people or their property. The Insurance Information Institute’s summary of ISO/Verisk data reports frequency as claims per 100 earned car years, where one car year equals 365 days of insured coverage for one vehicle; severity is the loss size and includes loss-adjustment expenses. Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance
| Year | Bodily-injury liability frequency | Bodily-injury severity | Property-damage frequency | Property-damage severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.89 | $17,014 | 3.45 | $3,628 |
| 2016 | 1.04 | $16,082 | 3.41 | $3,969 |
| 2017 | 1.06 | $16,234 | 3.16 | $3,797 |
| 2018 | 0.94 | $18,213 | 3.09 | $4,174 |
| 2019 | 0.93 | $19,151 | 3.14 | $4,326 |
| 2020 | 0.78 | $20,769 | 2.39 | $4,703 |
| 2021 | 0.68 | $23,592 | 2.28 | $5,036 |
| 2022 | 0.70 | $24,681 | 2.54 | $6,024 |
| 2023 | 0.78 | $26,178 | 2.59 | $6,554 |
| 2024 | 0.80 | $28,278 | 2.50 | $6,770 |
The bodily-injury series peaked at 1.06 claims per 100 earned car years in 2017, then reached its lowest listed frequency, 0.68, in 2021. Severity moved from $17,014 in 2015 to $28,278 in 2024, while the source excludes Massachusetts and most no-fault states for bodily injury.
Property-damage frequency fell from 3.45 in 2015 to 2.28 in 2021 before reaching 2.50 in 2024. Its severity rose from $3,628 to $6,770 over the same listed years; this series excludes Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey and is based on paid claims.
Collision Claim Statistics: Frequency, Severity and Costs
Collision claims concern damage from a crash and are shown here for coverage with a $500 deductible. The ISO/Verisk series excludes Massachusetts, Michigan, and Puerto Rico and uses paid claims. Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance
| Year | Collision frequency per 100 earned car years | Severity per claim |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6.01 | $3,377 |
| 2016 | 5.51 | $3,454 |
| 2017 | 5.98 | $3,517 |
| 2018 | 4.92 | $3,665 |
| 2019 | 5.00 | $3,828 |
| 2020 | 3.93 | $3,854 |
| 2021 | 4.31 | $4,583 |
| 2022 | 4.48 | $5,377 |
| 2023 | 4.48 | $5,521 |
| 2024 | 4.16 | $5,489 |
Collision frequency was 6.01 claims per 100 earned car years in 2015 and 3.93 in 2020. It was 4.16 in 2024, while severity increased from $3,377 in 2015 to $5,489 in 2024.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners separately reported that average incurred loss per collision claim rose 18.6%, from $5,185 in 2020 to more than $6,150 in 2021. This is an incurred-loss measure, so it should not be treated as interchangeable with the ISO paid-claim severity series. NAIC Releases 2021–2022 Auto Insurance Database Report
Comprehensive Car Insurance Claim Frequency and Losses
Comprehensive coverage in the supplied ISO/Verisk series includes glass losses and excludes wind and water losses. The paid-claim series also uses the source’s geographic exclusions, so it describes a defined slice of U.S. private-passenger auto insurance rather than every comprehensive claim nationwide. Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance
| Year | Comprehensive frequency per 100 earned car years | Severity per claim |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2.62 | $1,679 |
| 2016 | 2.30 | $1,951 |
| 2017 | 2.86 | $1,811 |
| 2018 | 2.70 | $1,806 |
| 2019 | 2.99 | $1,796 |
| 2020 | 2.91 | $1,918 |
| 2021 | 3.35 | $1,947 |
| 2022 | 3.78 | $2,175 |
| 2023 | 4.08 | $2,305 |
| 2024 | 3.95 | $2,306 |
Comprehensive frequency rose from 2.62 claims per 100 earned car years in 2015 to 4.08 in 2023, then eased to 3.95 in 2024. Severity was $1,679 in 2015 and $2,306 in 2024, with the source noting that glass losses are included and wind and water losses are excluded.
Total Auto Insurance Incurred Losses and Market Scale
Incurred losses describe losses occurring in the period, whether or not they were adjusted or paid during that period, after reinsurance. That definition differs from paid claims and claim severity, so the following market totals should be read as scale measures rather than direct estimates of a typical payout.
| Year | Private-passenger auto liability incurred losses | Private-passenger physical-damage incurred losses |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $81,627.769 million | $54,659.175 million |
| 2021 | $95,420.729 million | $73,802.318 million |
| 2022 | $118,106.320 million | $91,033.128 million |
| 2023 | $125,670.793 million | $95,379.852 million |
| 2024 | $132,012.369 million | $89,499.857 million |
The liability total increased from $81,627.769 million in 2020 to $132,012.369 million in 2024. Physical-damage losses rose from $54,659.175 million in 2020 to $95,379.852 million in 2023, then were $89,499.857 million in 2024; physical damage combines collision and comprehensive.
The NAIC reported national total liability incurred losses of $103.8 billion in 2021, 19.4% above 2020. Its report also found that the national combined average premium per issued vehicle was $1,258 in 2022, up 5.75% from 2021, and that liability premiums grew 8.61% from 2018 to 2022 while insured vehicles grew 5.9%. NAIC Releases 2021–2022 Auto Insurance Database Report
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claim Statistics
The Insurance Research Council estimated that 15.4% of U.S. drivers were uninsured in 2023 and 18.0% were underinsured. These are not direct driver census results: the estimates were derived from comparisons of uninsured-motorist or underinsured-motorist claim frequency with bodily-injury claim frequency.
The IRC analysis used data from 17 insurers representing approximately 55% of the private-passenger auto market for a 2017–2023 analysis. In 2023, UIM claim frequency reached 0.17 claims per 100 insured vehicles. IRC report reveals that one in three drivers were either uninsured or underinsured in 2023
Because the market coverage was substantial but incomplete, the source describes the result as an estimate. The uninsured and underinsured percentages therefore provide a national risk indicator, not a directly counted share of every driver.
Car Insurance Claim Statistics: Definitions and Measurement Limits
The same word—claim—can refer to different statistical objects. Frequency, severity, paid claims, incurred losses, and market estimates should remain separate when comparing insurance data.
- Frequency in the ISO/Verisk series means claims per 100 earned car years, with one car year equal to 365 days of insured coverage for one vehicle.
- Severity is loss size per claim and includes loss-adjustment expenses in the bodily-injury, property-damage, collision, and comprehensive series described by the Insurance Information Institute.
- The III table reports paid claims, while its incurred-loss table reports losses occurring in the period whether or not adjusted or paid during that period, after reinsurance.
- Bodily-injury liability excludes Massachusetts and most no-fault states; property-damage liability excludes Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey.
- The physical-damage measures exclude Massachusetts, Michigan, and Puerto Rico; collision uses a $500 deductible, and comprehensive includes glass losses while excluding wind and water losses.
- The IRC uninsured and underinsured percentages are estimates based on claim-frequency comparisons and partial insurer-market data, not a direct survey or census.
- The NAIC’s national tables distinguish voluntary and residual business and can contain state-specific unavailable values; only clearly labeled national context figures are summarized here.
These scope differences explain why a paid collision severity figure, an incurred-loss total, and an estimated uninsured-driver percentage answer different questions. Keeping the population, period, unit, and claim definition attached to each number is essential when using car insurance claim statistics.