Research Publications

This publication shows dramatic increases in claimed medical expenses and examines some of the factors driving them. The closed claim study, the seventh of its kind conducted by the IRC, is based on a sample of more than 35,000 auto injury claims paid in 2012. The study examines trends in claim patterns, including details on injuries, medical treatment, claimed losses and payments, attorney involvement, and fraud.

This report updates previous IRC studies surveying the public about the acceptability and perceived frequency of various types of insurance fraud, with special emphasis on auto insurance fraud. It also examines attitudes toward a variety of tools that insurers and law enforcement use to fight against insurance fraud, including claim handling techniques and consequences for fraudulent behavior, and the public’s willingness to perform fraud-fighting efforts. The study finds lower tolerance of fraud than in past studies and broad support for measures designed to reduce fraud.

This report documents homeowners insurance claim frequency, severity, and loss cost trends from 1997 to 2011. Countrywide and state findings are presented. Special attention is focused on the role of catastrophe-related claims. The study finds that the cost of homeowners insurance claims increased rapidly over the study period, driven primarily by a rapid increase in the severity of all claims and a slow, but steady, increase in the frequency of noncatastrophe-related claims beginning in 2006.