The information in this post is based on collision coverage results for 2005-07 model passenger cars (including minivans), pickup trucks, and SUVs insured under private passenger automobile policies.

Two main factors determine collision losses. One is how often claims are filed (claim frequency). The other is how big the claim payments are, depending on the amount and severity of damage (average loss payment per claim). These two factors combine to indicate overall insurance losses, or average loss payments per insured vehicle year.

As you can see in the chart above, very large SUVs had the lowest property claims (72), while small 2-door cars had the highest (130). For 4-door cars, we see that smaller cars had higher frequencies than larger ones. Pickups and luxury automobiles follow the same pattern. More...