IIHS-HLDI’s Moore Says Crash Avoidance Systems Lower Overall Losses Even as Repair Costs Climb

HLDI data shows sensor-equipped vehicles carry higher claim severity but sharply lower claim frequency, producing lower overall losses.

Crash avoidance systems raise the cost of the repairs they fail to prevent while reducing what insurers pay out overall, according to a commentary published Aug. 11 by Matt Moore, chief insurance operations officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute.

The argument turns on a distinction that is routinely collapsed in debates over repair costs: what a single repair costs is not the same measure as how many repairs occur. Vehicles equipped with advanced driver