SUVs made up 60% of U.S. vehicle production in model year 2024, while standardized insurance studies show how collision, medical-payment, comprehensive and theft losses vary across SUV categories and individual models. The figures below distinguish production from insured exposure, and loss outcomes from premiums.
Key SUV Insurance Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In model year 2024, SUVs represented 60% of U.S. vehicle production when EPA car-SUV and truck-SUV categories are combined.
- In model year 2024, truck SUVs represented almost 50% of U.S. new-vehicle production.
- In model year 2024, 66% of new U.S. vehicles were classified as trucks and 34% as cars under NHTSA regulatory definitions.
- In 2023, the U.S. average auto-insurance expenditure was $1,281 per insured vehicle-year across private passenger auto.
- In 2023, the countrywide combined average for liability, collision and comprehensive coverage was $1,438 per insured vehicle.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, collision claim frequency was 5.6 claims per 100 insured vehicle-years in U.S. passenger-vehicle insurance data.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, average collision severity was $8,755 per claim.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, collision overall losses were $486 per insured vehicle-year.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, MedPay claim frequency was 9.4 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, MedPay severity was $4,332 per claim.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, MedPay overall losses were $41 per insured vehicle-year.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, comprehensive claim frequency was 81.6 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, glass accounted for 60.2 comprehensive claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
- For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, comprehensive overall losses were $179 per insured vehicle-year.
- For 2021–23 model-year SUVs, whole-vehicle theft frequency was 0.35 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
- For 2021–23 model-year SUVs, whole-vehicle theft severity was $48,844 per theft.
- For 2021–23 model-year SUVs, whole-vehicle theft overall loss was $17 per insured vehicle-year.
- In the 2021–23 HLDI comparison, SUV whole-vehicle theft frequency was lower than passenger cars, at 0.35 versus 0.60 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
Contents
- SUV insurance market scale and definitions
- U.S. SUV insurance cost context
- SUV collision insurance claims and repair losses
- SUV medical-payment claims and injury costs
- SUV comprehensive insurance, glass and noncollision losses
- SUV theft insurance losses and model variation
SUV Insurance Market Scale and Definitions
The EPA’s model-year 2024 production data provides scale, but production is not the same as the number of insured vehicles or policies. EPA classified 66% of new vehicles as trucks and 34% as cars under NHTSA regulatory definitions, while its SUV breakdown combined car-SUV and truck-SUV categories into a 60% share of all U.S. vehicles produced.
| EPA measure | Model-year 2024 result | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| All SUVs | 60% | U.S. vehicle production |
| Truck SUVs | Almost 50% | U.S. new-vehicle production |
| New vehicles classified as trucks | 66% | Regulatory vehicle classification |
| New vehicles classified as cars | 34% | Regulatory vehicle classification |
Source: Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report and The 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975.
EPA defines truck SUVs using regulatory truck rules, including four-wheel drive or a gross-vehicle-weight threshold generally above 6,000 pounds; remaining two-wheel-drive SUVs are classified as car SUVs. This is a classification rule, not a premium or loss measure.
Average real-world fuel economy for new model-year 2024 vehicles was 27.2 mpg, an EPA estimate that was 41% higher than the 2004 fleet average. Truck-SUV fuel economy rose by 1.0 mpg to 25.7 mpg in model year 2024, but these fleet figures are not direct insurance rating factors.
In the 2024 production mix, 30% of car SUVs were battery-electric vehicles and 3% were plug-in hybrids. Those are production shares, not insured adoption rates or premium shares.
U.S. SUV Insurance Cost Context
No national premium figure in the supplied NAIC data isolates SUVs. The NAIC countrywide average auto-insurance expenditure was $1,281 per insured vehicle in 2023 for private passenger auto, with voluntary and residual markets combined, and it increased 13.99% from 2022.
| NAIC measure | 2023 result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Average auto-insurance expenditure | $1,281 per insured vehicle-year | U.S. private passenger auto |
| Median state average expenditure | $1,114 | 50 states and District of Columbia |
| Combined liability, collision and comprehensive average | $1,438 per insured vehicle-year | U.S. private passenger auto |
| Median state combined average | $1,268 | 50 states and District of Columbia |
Source: 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.
The NAIC combined average for liability, collision and comprehensive coverage increased 14.42% from 2022 to 2023. It assumes those three coverages and does not distinguish SUVs, limits, deductibles or policyholder characteristics.
The state median figures describe the middle state result rather than a national SUV premium. Direct state comparisons also require caution because coverage choices, demographics, driving patterns, garaging locations and other rating variables differ.
SUV Collision Insurance Claims and Repair Losses
HLDI’s standardized 2020–22 model-year results provide SUV-specific loss outcomes. For qualifying insured vehicles in U.S. passenger-vehicle insurance data, SUVs had 5.6 collision claims per 100 insured vehicle-years, $8,755 average severity per claim and $486 in collision overall losses per insured vehicle-year.
| Collision measure, 2020–22 models | SUVs | All passenger vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Claim frequency | 5.6 per 100 vehicle-years | 6.1 per 100 vehicle-years |
| Claim severity | $8,755 per claim | $8,739 per claim |
| Overall losses | $486 per vehicle-year | $532 per vehicle-year |
Source: HLDI Insurance Report: Collision losses, 2020–22 passenger cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans.
The all-passenger-vehicle benchmark includes passenger cars, pickups, SUVs and vans. HLDI reports the SUV result as an all-variable standardized outcome, not as a retail repair quote or a premium charged to an individual driver.
The small-SUV segment contributed 10,119,400 insured vehicle-years and 565,253 collision claims in the same model-year dataset. Its relative collision claim-frequency index was 92, severity index 91 and overall-loss index 83, with 100 representing the all-passenger-vehicle average.
One model-level result illustrates why a body-style average is not a quote. The Subaru Forester 4WD with EyeSight had 712,585 insured vehicle-years, 31,074 collision claims and a relative overall-loss index of 62.
SUV Medical-Payment Insurance Claims and Injury Costs
For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, HLDI recorded 9.4 MedPay claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years, $4,332 severity per claim and $41 in overall losses per insured vehicle-year. MedPay severity can be affected by policy limits, which HLDI says typically range from $5,000 to $25,000.
| MedPay measure, 2020–22 models | SUVs | All passenger vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Claim frequency | 9.4 per 1,000 vehicle-years | 10.0 per 1,000 vehicle-years |
| Claim severity | $4,332 per claim | $4,281 per claim |
| Overall losses | $41 per vehicle-year | $43 per vehicle-year |
Source: HLDI Insurance Report: Medical Payment Losses, 2020–22 Passenger Cars, Pickups, SUVs, and Vans.
SUVs represented 56% of MedPay exposure in the HLDI vehicle-type dataset. SUV exposure totaled 9,245,589 insured vehicle-years and included 87,189 total claims and 48,806 paid claims; total claims include paid and unpaid claims with reserves.
The threshold frequencies were 9.4 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years for all claims, 4.7 for claims above $500, 3.8 above $1,000 and 3.0 above $2,000. These thresholds are not mutually exclusive categories.
Luxury SUVs had a relative MedPay claim-severity index of 158, where 100 equals the all-passenger-vehicle average. In the broader class-and-size comparison, very large luxury cars also had an index of 158, while four-door microcars had the lowest index at 75; that comparison is not SUV-only.
SUV Comprehensive Insurance, Glass and Noncollision Losses
Comprehensive claims capture noncollision events under HLDI’s definitions. For 2020–22 model-year SUVs, overall comprehensive claim frequency was 81.6 per 1,000 insured vehicle-years.
| SUV comprehensive measure, 2020–22 models | Frequency per 1,000 vehicle-years | Severity per claim | Overall loss per vehicle-year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 81.6 | $2,194 | $179 |
| Theft | 1.3 | $14,006 | $19 |
| Glass | 60.2 | $697 | $42 |
| Other losses | 20.0 | $5,908 | $118 |
Source: HLDI Insurance Report: Comprehensive Losses, 2020–22 passenger cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans.
HLDI’s “other” category includes noncollision damage such as weather, vandalism, fire and animal strikes. The SUV total overall loss was $179 per insured vehicle-year, made up of $19 for theft, $42 for glass and $118 for other losses.
Across all passenger vehicles, glass caused 70% of comprehensive claims but only 20% of paid dollars in 2020–22 models. Theft caused 2% of comprehensive claims but 13% of paid dollars, with average theft severity of $14,211, while other losses caused 27% of claims and 67% of paid dollars.
Large SUVs in the HLDI table had 756,962 insured vehicle-years, 56,186 claims and a relative total comprehensive-loss index of 101. Very large SUVs had 291,790 insured vehicle-years, 23,134 claims and a relative total index of 99; both indices use the all-passenger average of 100.
SUV Theft Insurance Losses and Model-Level Variation
For 2021–23 model-year SUVs under comprehensive coverage, whole-vehicle theft frequency was 0.35 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years, severity was $48,844 per theft and overall loss was $17 per insured vehicle-year.
| Whole-vehicle theft measure, 2021–23 models | SUVs | All passenger vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Claim frequency | 0.35 per 1,000 vehicle-years | 0.49 per 1,000 vehicle-years |
| Severity | $48,844 per theft | $50,954 per theft |
| Overall loss | $17 per vehicle-year | $25 per vehicle-year |
Source: HLDI Insurance Report: Whole vehicle theft losses, 2021–23 Passenger Cars, Pickups, SUVs, and Vans.
The SUV frequency was lower than the passenger-car result of 0.60 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years in HLDI’s standardized comparison. The comparison is descriptive and does not establish that body style caused the difference.
The full 2021–23 HLDI whole-vehicle-theft dataset covered 44,485,860 insured vehicle-years and 21,804 claims across passenger vehicles. Its detailed report covered 287 passenger-car, pickup, SUV and van series meeting at least one exposure or claims threshold, and low-exposure series were excluded from detailed reporting.
Model-level variation was substantial:
- The Durango SRT Hellcat four-door, a large SUV, had a relative theft-frequency index of 5,282, the worst result in the HLDI table; the index uses the all-passenger average of 100 and is not a percent probability.
- The GMC Acadia 4WD had 126,694 insured vehicle-years, 5 claims, a relative theft-frequency index of 8 and an overall-loss index of 6.
- The Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid 4WD had 93,963 insured vehicle-years, 5 claims, a relative theft-frequency index of 10 and an overall-loss index of 10.
- The Land Rover Defender 110 4WD had 40,965 insured vehicle-years, 2 claims, a relative theft-frequency index of 12, a severity index of 178 and an overall-loss index of 22.
The GMC Acadia, Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid and Land Rover Defender results are specific model-series descriptions, not individual-policy predictions; the Acadia and RAV4 results each contain five claims, while the Defender result contains two.