Best and Worst Vehicles for Overall Collision Losses in 2023

Ever wonder why different vehicles get charged different rates for car insurance? Wouldn’t it be easier to just charge the same rate for every vehicle? From a consumer standpoint, that sounds like a great idea and would help eliminate some of the guesswork at how much car insurance would cost.

But realistically, the result would be drivers of safer or lower-cost vehicles would have to subsidize the cost of insurance for more claim-prone or expensive vehicles.

Every vehicle has a specific “fingerprint” when it comes to likelihood of having claims for each type of coverage like comprehensive, collision, medical, bodily injury liability, or property damage liability. The Insurance Services Office, or ISO, which is a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, specializes in analyzing this data and creating vehicle symbols that insurance companies use to determine rates.

Symbols are broken down by coverage type, so every vehicle has a different symbol for comprehensive, collision, and liability insurance. The symbols help companies predict claims and charge an adequate amount to cover the increased or decreased likelihood of claims being paid out for each coverage.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (specifically the Highway Loss Data Institute) specializes in assembling collision loss information in a way that consumers can find which vehicles are more likely to have certain types of insurance claims.

Vehicle Ratings for Collision Losses

The tables below show the ten vehicles in each model year category that rank the best and worst for collision losses. An average loss rating is 100, so anything lower than that is considered favorable, and any rating higher than 100 is considered to be at higher risk of having more frequent or more costly collision claims.

2014 to 2016 Models with the Best Collision Losses

Vehicle Make and Model	Overall Collision Loss Rating
Smart ForTwo electric	42
Ram 1500 LWB 4WD	47
Ford F-250 4WD	48
Kia Soul electric	48
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible	52
Jeep Wrangler 2dr SWB 4WD	53
Ram 2500 crew cab SWB 2WD	55
GMC Canyon ext. cab 2WD	57
Ford F-350 SuperCab 4WD	57
Subaru Outback 4WD	57

The vehicles with the best collision ratings tend to be pickup and semi trucks, with the exception of the Kia and Smart electric sub-compacts, the Corvette, the Jeep Wrangler, and the Subaru Outback.

Now let’s take a look at which vehicles have the worst collision ratings based on the IIHS scores.

2014 to 2016 Models with the Worst Collision Losses

Vehicle Make and Model	Overall Collision Loss Rating
Bentley Continental GT 2dr 4WD	650
Bentley Continental Flying Spur 4dr 4WD	600
Bentley Continental GTC convertible 4WD	493
BMW i8 plug-in hybrid 2dr 4WD	425
Maserati Granturismo 2dr	410
BMW M6 2dr	384
Audi RS7 4dr 4WD	359
BMW M3 4dr	348
BMW M4 2dr	346
Maserati Ghibli 4dr 4WD	343

Wow, look at those numbers! The top three vehicles with the worst collision losses are all Bentleys, and are over ten times higher than the vehicles with the best collision losses.

What do the Numbers Mean?

These numbers are not safety ratings or anything like it. Remember we are talking about collision losses, and collision insurance pays for damages to your vehicle caused by rollover or impact with another object or vehicle. Safety ratings primarily determine the extent of injuries that may be sustained by a vehicle’s occupants in a variety of accident scenarios.

A low number on this rating means one of two things. Either the vehicle model does not have a high frequency of losses, meaning it just doesn’t crash into things or rollover very much, or it does not have a high severity of collision losses, which means when a collision loss does happen, it’s not that expensive to repair.

Conversely, a high rating number means the vehicle costs a lot to repair or has a tendency to have a lot of collision claims. By looking at the types of vehicles in the list of worst collision losses, it’s most likely due to the high cost of repairing the vehicles after a collision.

For example, in the list of the best collision losses, the Jeep Wrangler has been on the top ten list for many years. When a Jeep Wrangler gets damaged, it’s easy for body shops to repair the damage because the panels are easy to repair or replace and vehicle components are easily accessible. Wranglers don’t generally have all the fancy bells and whistles like many other vehicles do, as they are designed to be taken off-road.

On the other hand, the Bentleys, Maseratis, and high-end BMW models have very high repair costs due to the advanced safety and electronics built into the vehicles, and also the specialized parts, finish techniques, and trim materials. A lot of repair shops cannot even repair those types of vehicles, and they have to be transported to a shop that specializes in repairing exotic vehicles.

Collision Loss Ratings for Other Vehicles

Now that we’ve established the best and worst vehicles for collision losses, lets take a look at other popular vehicles and see how they stack up.

Collision Loss Ratings for Other 2014 to 2016 Models

Vehicle Make and Model	Overall Collision Loss Rating
Fiat 500	76
Mini Cooper	86
Honda Civic 2-Dr	120
Honda CR-Z hybrid	114
Kia Forte	113
Volkswagen Golf	99
Honda Accord 2-Dr	114
Dodge Challenger	161
Kia Rio	106
Chevrolet Spark	79
Chevrolet Cruze	86
Chevrolet Volt	88
Nissan Sentra 4-Dr	121
Toyota Corolla 4-Dr	124
Toyota Prius Hybrid	105
Buick Verano	92
Ford Fusion 4WD	112
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid	144
Kia Optima Hybrid	152
Nissan Altima	113
Toyota Camry	107
Volkswagen Jetta	112
Buick LaCrosse 2WD	105
Chevrolet SS	120
Toyota Avalon Hybrid	124
Audi A5 2dr 4WD	190
BMW 3 series 4dr 2WD	131
Cadillac ATS 2dr 2WD	121
Infiniti Q50 4dr 4WD	157
Lexus IS 200T 4dr	200
Lexus IS 350 4dr 4WD	177
Mercedes-Benz C class AMG 4dr 4WD	212
Volvo S60 4dr 4WD	114
BMW 6 series 2dr 4WD	288
Cadillac CTS 4dr 4WD	129
Jaguar XJ 4dr LWB 4WD	240
Lexus RC-F 2dr	267
Tesla Model S 4dr electric 2WD	315
Lexus LS 460 4dr 4WD	206
Lincoln MKS 4dr 2WD	124
Volvo V60 Cross Country 4WD	116
Chrysler Town & Country	82
Dodge Grand Caravan	81
Honda Odyssey	76
Nissan Quest	98
Toyota Sienna 2WD	103
Chevrolet Colorado crew cab 4WD	82
GMC Canyon crew cab 4WD	66
Nissan Frontier crew cab SWB 2WD	78
Toyota Tacoma double cab 4WD	102
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ext. cab 2WD	92
Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4WD	76
Ram 1500 crew cab SWB 4WD	93
GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4WD	87
Toyota Tundra double cab 4WD	87
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4dr 4WD	99
Ford Expedition EL 4dr 4WD	85
GMC Yukon XL 1500 4dr 4WD	111
Buick Enclave 4dr 4WD	94
Chevrolet Tahoe 4dr 4WD	86
Chevrolet Traverse 4dr 4WD	73
Dodge Durango 4dr 4WD	96
GMC Acadia 4dr 4WD	81
Toyota Sequoia 4dr 4WD	82
Ford Edge 4dr 4WD	86
Ford Flex 4dr 4WD	92
Honda Pilot 4dr 4WD	81
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 4dr 4WD	92
Nissan Murano 4dr 4WD	99
Toyota Highlander 4dr 4WD	94
Honda CR-V 4dr 4WD	69
Kia Sportage 4dr 4WD	89
Nissan Rogue 4dr 4WD	96
Toyota RAV4 4dr 4WD	93
Infiniti QX80 4dr 4WD	120
Lexus LX 570 4dr 4WD	140
Porsche Cayenne 4dr 4WD	173
Tesla Model X 4dr electric 4WD	266
Toyota Land Cruiser 4dr 4WD	103
Cadillac Escalade ESV 4dr 4WD	118

It’s easy to tell by the numbers which vehicles have higher and lower collision insurance costs. Higher-priced vehicles cost more to insure, and even costs to insure the same model but different trim level can be significantly different.

Hybrid and vehicles have more expensive collision insurance rates than their non-hybrid siblings due to the more expensive electric drive train components and potential for damage to the battery packs.

When it comes to car insurance, accident analytics and collision claim history are two of the tools used by companies to help forecast claims and set appropriate premium levels for each vehicle model. The next time you ask why collision insurance is so expensive for a particular model, you’ll know the answer.

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