A new study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) finds that reported losses
in auto injury claims are escalating in spite of the fact that the rate of serious auto injuries has
decreased. In the past five years, increases in the average amounts that auto injury claimants
report for expenses stemming from their injuries, particularly among personal injury protection and
medical payments first-party claimants, are nearly double the annualized growth in medical
inflation. Additionally, they are three times higher than increases in general inflation.
The IRC study, which is based on more than 70,000 auto injury claims collected from insurers
countrywide, reveals that escalating medical costs are the key factor behind this growth in losses.