The Safest Cars Based Based On Personal Injury Protection Claims

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is the authority on vehicle safety and has determined which 2020 vehicles have the highest and lowest injury rates. It did this by researching the frequency of personal injury protection claims (PIP). These claims pay for medical expenses for those injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.

PIP claim numbers are a good indicator of how well cars protect occupants in real-world crashes, according to the IIHS. A bonus is that buying a safer car may mean lower car insurance rates. That's because insurers factor in your car model's claims history when calculating how much you pay for coverage.

Cars With Fewest Personal Injury Protection Claims

The Porsche 911 Carrera took the first spot for fewest PIP claims. Porsche had three models in the top 10. Tesla, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Chevrolet were also in the group.

Cars on the top 10 list for fewest claims tend to be luxury models that aren’t driven as frequently and typically are owned by experienced drivers, which results in fewer claims. Sports cars are usually equipped with the most advanced safety technology, so they are generally ranked well for preventing injuries.

Cars With Most Personal Injury Protection Claims

On the downside, the Mitsubishi Mirage was judged the worst, with the highest PIP claim frequency. Also in the bottom 10 were vehicles from Nissan (with four models), Dodge, Kia and Chrysler, according to the IIHS. These cars are mostly smaller, budget models and are generally more expensive to insure than other models in their class with fewer claims.

The IIHS says its analysis for 2012 to 2014 vehicles reflects the most recent data available from insurance companies. The institute adds that its study remains a good predictor of the basic safety of newer models, unless they've undergone a drastic redesign.

Rankings for best and worst were based on how often vehicle owners filed PIP claims. “All results are stated in relative terms, with 100 representing the average for all vehicles under a given coverage type,” the IIHS explains. “For example, a result of 122 is 22 percent worse than average, and 96 is 4 percent better than average.”

10 Vehicles With The Lowest Personal Injury Projtection Claim Frequency


Vehicle	Vehicle size and class	Claim frequency
1. Porsche 911 Carrera 2dr	Midsize sports car	25
2. Land Rover Range Rover 4dr 4WD	Large luxury SUV	32
3. Porsche Boxster convertible	Small sports car	33
4. Tesla Model S 4dr electric	Large luxury car	34
5. Porsche 911 Carrera convertible	Midsize sports car	34
6. Mercedes-Benz SL class convertible	Midsize sports car	37
7. Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 2dr	Midsize sports car	39
8. Land Rover Range Rover Sport 4dr 4WD	Large luxury SUV	40
9. Ford F-250 crew cab 4WD	Very large pickup	41
10. Chevrolet Corvette 2dr	Midsize sports car	42

You'll see that luxury cars and sports cars comprise the list of vehicles with the least PIP claims. This is due, in part, to the fact that they are typically driven less by their owners, so it makes sense that they are in fewer accidents. Another reason that's often overlooked is driver demographics.

For example, the average age of a Porsche 911 buyer in the U.S. is 52, and the typical Boxster buyer is 47, according to the car maker. Marketing research firm Strategic Vision says the average Mustang buyer is 51.More experienced drivers, overall, get into fewer accidents, so file fewer claims.

On the other hand, 31% percent of Nissan's buyers and 38% of Mitsubishi's buyers are younger than 34, according to Strategic Vision.

I personally bought a Range Rover Sport (#8 on the list) once my son was born in 2017. Previously, I was driving a Honda Fit and the doors were too thin for comfort. I could never forgive myself if I got into an accident and something happened to my son because I wanted to save money.

To 10 Vehicles With The Highest Personal Injury Protection Claims

Vehicle	Vehicle size and class	Claim frequency
1. Mitsubishi Mirage	Micro four-door car	213
2. Dodge Avenger	Midsize four-door car	184
3. Nissan Versa	Small four-door car	178
4. Nissan Versa Note	Small station wagons/minivan	178
5. Kia Forte	Small four-door car	176
6. Mitsubishi Lancer 2WD	Small four-door car	176
7. Nissan Rogue Select 4dr 2WD	Small SUV	171
8. Chrysler 200	Midsize four-door car	168
9. Nissan Cube	Small station wagons/minivan	165
10. Kia Rio	Mini four-door car	164

Car Safety And Cost Of Insurance

There are many factors that go into auto rates, including the cost to repair a car, its overall safety record and the likelihood of theft. In fact, I strongly believe your auto insurance might not be good enough based on the cost of fixing my Honda Fit in a minor accident. What I thought would cost maybe $500 to fix cost over $3,000!

Insurers look closely at injury claims, including PIP claims, when deciding how much risk they want to take on. If your car shows to have more injury claims, or injury claims that were paid out had higher than average payouts, then in their risk assessment it means that insuring your car could make it pay out more.

If your car shows to have fewer injury claims, or the injury claims payouts are less than average, your car poses less of a risk and so your car insurance rates should be cheaper than average for your PIP and other injury coverage portions.

PIP and medical payment (sometimes called MedPay) coverages help pay medical bills resulting from auto accidents. They're similar, but PIP also covers lost wages and rehabilitation costs in addition to medical expenses.

PIP is optional in most states. Several, however, require it as part of a car insurance policy. They are: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Utah. MedPay is required in Maine and New Hampshire.

Here is my comprehensive research done on the safest cars to buy beyond the top 10 list by IIHS.

Safer Vehicles With Safety Features

If you want a safe care, you should look for the following safety features:

Air bags — Insurers embrace them, and the more the better. You'll get a discount if your car has front air bags, but you'll get a bigger rate cut if it has both dual front air bags and side air bags. Gusner says that the discount is usually seen under your policy's PIP and medical payments section, and that some insurers will also discount liability coverages.
Anti-lock brakes — A few states, including Florida, New Jersey and New York, require an insurer to provide a discount. But many insurers will reward one anyway if your vehicle has them. The discount, typically about 5 percent, may be applied to your liability, PIP, medical payments and collision coverages.
Seat belts — A discount may be available if the car has automatic seat belts.
Crash-resistant doors — Some insurers provide a 5 percent or less discount if your car has this feature. The reason, Gusner says, is that crash-resistant doors can lower the number of claims insurers have to pay.
Electronic stability control (ESC) — A few insurers have added a discount of about 5 percent when a vehicle comes with a factory-installed ESC system.
Daytime running lights — A 5 percent discount off your liability, PIP, medical payments and collision coverage may be offered.
Lane departure warning and collision preparation systems – These innovative safety features will get you a discount with a few insurers. Gusner says that if these features show to bring down claims, more car insurance providers should begin to offer discounts in the next few years.

Auto insurance is the second biggest expense to owning your car. I recommend getting a free quote at Allstate to find out how much you can save.

It is very important that everyone gets at least basic liability car insurance. You can total your car and be fine. But if you total someone else’s car and injure them, they can go after you for ALL your assets and wipe you out! Personal Injury Protection Claims are no joke. Use the data wisely.

About the Author:

Sam began investing his own money ever since he opened an online brokerage account in 1995. Sam loved investing so much that he decided to make a career out of investing by spending the next 13 years after college working at two of the leading financial service firms in the world. During this time, Sam received his MBA from UC Berkeley with a focus on finance and real estate.

In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $200,000 a year in passive income. He spends time playing tennis, hanging out with family, consulting for leading fintech companies and writing online to help others achieve financial freedom.

FinancialSamurai.com was started in 2009 and is one of the most trusted personal finance sites today with over 1.5 million organic pageviews a month. Financial Samurai has been featured in top publications such as the LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

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