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 106,767 in 2009 to 106,177 in 2010.

• Those crashes involved 201,936 vehicles, a .16% decrease from 2009.

• There were 4,805,904 vehicles registered for travel on public roads. The equivalent of 1-in-23 was involved in a police-reported crash.

• There were 4,537,653 licensed drivers in Arizona in 2010. The equivalent of 1-in-42 was involved in a police-reported crash.

• The economic impact of motor vehicle crashes accounted for approximately $417.50 for each man, woman and child in Arizona.

• Eighty-two (82) percent of all crashes involved more than one vehicle, and over 79% occurred in an urban setting.

• There were 762 fatalities (406 drivers, 182 passengers) including 23 children, 155 pedestrians, 86 motorcyclists and 19 pedacyclists.

• More than 50,100 people claimed to be injured in motor vehicle crashes, including more than 3,500 children, 1,178 pedestrians, 2,390 motorcyclists and 1,569 pedacyclists.

• Hit-and-run drivers caused 11,388 crashes that resulted in 43 deaths and 2,285 injuries.

• There were 5,489 alcohol-related crashes in Arizona that resulted in 223 fatalities and 3,724 injuries.

• The most crashes occurred weekdays between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 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 2008 with an 25% decrease in thefts from 2007. 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 2010 Hot Spots report the Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area ranked 40th in the country for auto thefts in 2009, while Tucson ranked 24th, Yuma 62nd, Flagstaff 261st and Prescott 312th.

In 2008, Arizona's total economic loss due to vehicle thefts was $282,025,177.

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

Traffic Density: 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 16th highest in the country. People in Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York 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” can add over $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 Arizona Department of Insurance Fraud Unit (602-364-2140) or the National Insurance Crime Bureau (1-800-TEL-NICB).

Concerns

• While safety belt use has increased, there is still more to do. In 2010, 180 unbelted drivers and 86 unbelted passengers died in Arizona. Another 3,800 unbelted drivers and passengers were injured.

• Speeding and driver inattention continue to jeopardize safety on our roadways. Rear-end collisions represented 46% of all multi-vehicle crashes in Arizona. Speeding caused 17.3% of all crashes, 18% of all injuries and 17% of all fatalities. Drivers failing to yield the right-of-way was cited as the major driving error in 6.76% of all crashes, 8.26% of all injuries and 6.7% of all fatalities. Driver inattention was cited as the major cause of 5.9% of all crashes, 5.16% of all injuries and 2.6% of all fatalities.

• Based on miles driven, Arizona’s fatality rate is 12.5% 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 2010, 5.17% were alcohol-related.

• Between 85% and 90% of drivers and passengers in Arizona are wearing their safety belts. In fatal crashes in 2010, more than 86% 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.

**Updated with most current statistics as of January 2012