CARS.COM — Based on the latest data available, the insurance industry’s Highway Loss Data Institute has come up with lists of the best and worst model-year 2014-16 cars for collision damage and personal-injury claims. They are aimed at helping guide car shoppers on which vehicles are likely to be more or less expensive to insure, as well as provide another measure of which are relatively safer.
Related: IIHS Toughens Up Crash-Test Standards for 2018
HLDI lists the top 10 vehicles from those model years for the highest and lowest average insurance claims for collision damage and claims for injuries to drivers and passengers. The ratings supplement the crash-test and technology ratings from the companion Insurance Institute for Highway Safety industry research group.
“Whenever consumers are on the hunt for a new vehicle, they should consult two key resources: safety ratings from IIHS and insurance loss results from HLDI,” said Matt Moore, HLDI’s senior vice president. “Combined, they give a good picture of a vehicle’s overall safety and insurance costs.”
Takeaways from the newest data:
- Luxury cars dominate the list of models with highest total insured collision losses. No surprise here; even a minor incident can be expensive with fancier, more technology-loaded vehicles. And the owners may be more likely to make claims given the cost and the fact that they probably are unlikely to want to drive around in a Bentley beater. Since few of us are tooling around in a Bentley Continental GT, the car with the highest average collision claim and most total losses, HLDI also has helpfully provided a best and worst list for the rest of us that tallies collision losses for 2014-16 vehicles that sold for less than $30,000.
- Pickup trucks and SUVs have lower-than-average collision losses. That’s more surprising given how expensive many have become.
- Among the 10 vehicles with the lowest overall collision losses, there are four pickups, two conventional wagons, a small SUV, the Smart ForTwo and Kia Soul EV electric cars, and (!) the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
- Among a gaggle of sporty coupes that made the most-expensive-under-$30,000 list, the now-discontinued Hyundai Genesis coupe had the highest overall losses, followed by the Scion FR-S, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Subaru BRZ and Dodge Challenger.
- The Subaru Outback makes the top 10 for lowest losses among all vehicles, as well as for vehicles priced less than $30,000.
- Small cars have the most frequent claims for injuries to their occupants; very large pickups have the lowest. Imagine a collision between these two vehicle types and you get the picture. Injury-claim frequencies are affected by factors that include how often a vehicle is driven and on what kinds of roads, so a vehicle with a low injury-claim rate isn’t necessarily the safest. But in general, larger, heavier models with good safety ratings offer the best protection.
