The Highway Loss
Data Institute looked at
insurance data for medical payment (Med-Pay) coverage, and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) to determine how well a vehicle protected the
occupants from injury during a collision.
The majority of the vehicles
with the highest claim frequency for the model year 2009-2011 were classified
as minicars or small cars.
- Toyota Yaris had
the highest rate of personal injury claims: drivers or passengers of the
minicar filed injury claims 28.5 times for every 1000 insured vehicles. For
comparison, the lowest rate of injury claims was 4.5 per 1000 cars. - Suzuki SX4, a small
crossover, has the second-highest rate of injury claims per 1000 vehicles at
26.6. - The subcompact
Chevy Aveo had 26 injury claims filed for every 1000 cars. - The Mitsubishi
Galant and Kia Rio rounded out the top 5 worst cars for personal injury claims,
with 25.4 and 24.9 claims per 1000 insured cars, respectively.
The
Highway Loss Data Institute said its research demonstrated that the vehicles
with the highest injury claims tend to be small cars. As auto sales continue to
trend towards smaller vehicles, this is important safety information for
consumers.
You can see the full list of
passenger cars with high personal injury claim rates – and the vehicles with
the lowest claim rates – at the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website.
