Goal: Affordable Vehicle Insurance

Affordable vehicle insurance is a concern for consumers and insurance companies. Typically, the premiums you pay for insurance protection is based on the number and cost of the claims paid by your insurance company. Premiums are claims driven. If your insurance company’s ratio of frequency and cost of claims decreases, its customers pay less for their insurance protection. Conversely, if frequency and cost increase, so will the premiums for most customers of that insurance company.

The following information was gathered from a variety of government and insurance industry sources. It is designed to help consumers better understand the private passenger auto insurance environment in the Grand Canyon State. All information is the latest available.

Vehicle Crash Data

• Arizona vehicle crashes on public roads decreased from 142,729 in 2006 to 140,371 in 2007.

• Those crashes involved 269,899 vehicles, a 0.35% decrease from 2006.

• There were 4,848,162 vehicles registered for travel on public roads. The equivalent of 1-in-18 was involved in a police-reported crash.

• There were 4,212,393 licensed drivers in Arizona in 2007. The equivalent of 1-in-15 was involved in a police-reported crash.

• The economic impact of motor vehicle crashes accounted for approximately $595.00 for every man, woman and child in Arizona.

• Eighty-one percent of all crashes involved more than one vehicle, and over 82% occurred in an urban setting.

• There were 1,071 fatalities (731 males, 334 females) including 49 children, 157 pedestrians, 135 motorcyclists and 21 pedacyclists.

• Nearly 65,705 people claimed to be injured in motor vehicle crashes, including 5,426 children, 1,534 pedestrians, 2,929 motorcyclists and 1,595 pedacyclists.

• Hit-and-run drivers caused 17,295 crashes that resulted in 69 deaths and 4,456 injuries.

• There were 7,889 alcohol-related crashes in Arizona that resulted in 396 fatalities and 5,496 injuries.

• The most crashes occurred between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Reported Vehicle Crashes for Selected Arizona Cities

Note: Data represents only police-reported crashes that resulted in an injury, or at least $1,000 in property damage. It does not include collisions on private property.

Other Insurance Cost-Drivers

Vehicle Theft: Based on vehicle thefts for every 100,000 residents, Arizona’s theft rate improved in 2007 with an 11.8% decrease in thefts from 2006. Participation in the Arizona Auto Theft Authority’s “Watch Your Car Program” and the use of “bait” cars in capturing thieves are major reasons for the improvement.

According to the National Insurance Crimes Bureau's 2009 Hot Spots report the Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area ranked 19th in the country for auto thefts in 2008, while Tucson ranked 13th, Yuma 54th, Flagstaff 268th and Prescott 293rd.

In 2007, Arizona's total economic loss due to vehicle thefts was $346,801,091.

Check out AIC's Auto Theft Trends for tips on preventing theft of your vehicle.

Traffic Density: in 2007 more than half (around 58%) of the population of Arizona live in cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants, the highest proportion of any of the 50 states.

Miles Driven Per Highway Mile: The number of miles driven in Arizona ranks as the 25th highest in the country. People in Texas, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Florida drive the most miles.

Insurance Fraud: Insurance fraud primarily involves individuals who, in collusion with unscrupulous attorneys and medical “mills,” file claims for injuries that either don’t exist or are greatly exaggerated. Claims for these types of “injuries” add $167 - $200 to the average auto premium in Arizona. Other forms of fraud prevalent in Arizona include glass repair companies attempting to bill insurance companies for work that was either not done, or for replacing windshields when, in fact, the windshield was repaired. Vehicle “give-ups” is prevalent as well; this occurs when a vehicle owner purposely has his vehicle stolen to collect insurance proceeds. Citizens suspecting insurance fraud should report their suspicions to the DOI Fraud Unit (602-912-8418) or the National Insurance Crime Bureau (1-800-TEL-NICB).

Concerns

• While safety belt use has increased, there is still more to do. In 2007, 285 unbelted drivers and 121 unbelted passengers died in Arizona. Another 5,199 were injured.

• Speeding and driver inattention continue to jeopardize safety on our roadways. Rear-end collisions represented 44.6% of all multi-vehicle crashes in Arizona. Speeding caused 18% of all crashes, 18.74% of all injuries and 21.5% of all fatalities. Drivers failing to yield the right-of-way was cited as the major driving error in 9.6% of all crashes, 11.5% of all injuries and 9.6% of all fatalities. Driver inattention was cited as the major cause of 5.8% of all crashes, 5% of all injuries and 2.7% of all fatalities.

• Based on miles driven, Arizona’s fatality rate is 31.5% higher than the national average.

Improvements

• The DUI Task Forces in Arizona continue to remove impaired drivers from our roadways. In 2000, for instance, 6.1% of all crashes were alcohol-related. In 2007, 5.6% were alcohol-related.

• Between 80% and 90% of drivers and passengers in Arizona are wearing their safety belts. In fatal crashes in 2007, more than 90% of drivers and passengers who wore safety belts survived. It is estimated that safety belts save 14,000 lives and $50 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury related costs nationwide annually.

Sources: Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division, Arizona Auto Theft Authority, National Insurance Crime Bureau, and Federal Highway Administration.