IIHS News

New Auto Technology May Not Reduce Insurance Rates

More cars and trucks are being equipped with cameras, radar, automatic braking and other safety technology that help avoid accidents, but drivers may not see their insurance bills go down anytime soon, experts in the auto and insurance industries said …

Small Cars Still Need to Improve in Overlap Front Crash Test: IIHS

The Mini Cooper Countryman is the only small car to earn a good rating among the latest group of 12 cars subjected to the insurance industry’s small overlap front crash test. Two electric models and a hybrid also are in …

Montana and Arizona Only States Without Texting Laws

Arizona and Montana stand out as the only states without some form of texting and driving law, but some studies show there’s no evidence that laws intended to curb cellphone use behind the wheel reduce crashes. Fourty-four other states plus …

Front Crash Prevention Systems in Autos Key to Preventing Crashes

Less than a year into a new IIHS ratings program for front crash prevention, auto manufacturers are making strides in adopting the most beneficial systems with automatic braking capabilities and are offering the features on a wider variety of models. …

GM SUVs Rated Best in IIHS Front Crash Test

General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain earned the top marks among mid-size sport-utility vehicles in a test designed to simulate one of the deadliest types of front-end collisions. The two models earned a rating of “good” in results …

Study Highlights Importance of Recalls in Mitigating Noncrash Fire Claims

How seriously should a vehicle owner take a recall notice? A new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows that at least one type of recall corresponds to higher insurance losses, but the risk goes down after vehicle …

Texas Auto Injury Crashes and Fatalities Rising

The number of fatal automobile crashes in Texas has been on the decline since 1980, but that trend may have come to a screeching halt. For the past two years, both injury and fatal car accidents in Texas have risen. …

Older Driver Accident Rates Going Down

Safety researchers expressed concern a decade ago that traffic accidents would increase as the nation’s aging population swelled the number of older drivers on the road. Now, they say they’ve been proved wrong. Today’s drivers aged 70 and older are …

Micro Cars Do Poorly in Crash Tests: IIHS

Only 1 minicar out of 11 tested achieves an acceptable rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap front crash test, making these tiny vehicles the worst performing group of any evaluated so far. The Chevrolet Spark’s acceptable …

Study Finds West Virginia has Nation’s Highest ATV Death Rate

A new study says West Virginia has the nation’s highest rate of fatal all-terrain vehicle accidents. The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the study released Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety looked at rider deaths on public roads …