The Most Common Insurance Claims — and What They Cost
How often people file claims, what causes them and how much the average claim pays for homeowners, auto and commercial general liability insurance — plus a breakdown of car accidents by crash type and injury. Every figure is drawn from industry data and cited to its source below.
Homeowners
How Often Homes Have Claims — and What They Cost
Nationally, roughly 1 in 19 insured homes files a claim in a typical year, and the average claim has climbed sharply since 2019. In Texas, wind and hail dominate.
Homeowners Claims by Cause
Share of all claims compared with share of claim dollars, by cause of loss (2019–2023 national average). Fire is uncommon but expensive: about 4% of claims, yet more than a fifth of all dollars paid.1
Shares calculated by Lavon Insurance from ISO®/Verisk claim frequency and severity by cause, 2019–2023 weighted averages, as published by Triple-I. National data excludes Texas, Alaska and Puerto Rico; Texas-specific figures appear below.
Claim Frequency & Average Claim by Cause
Frequency is claims per 100 insured homes per year. Average claim is the amount paid per claim, excluding adjusting expenses.1
| Cause of loss | Share of claims | Claims per 100 homes / yr | Average claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind & hail | 49.6% | 2.80about 1 in 36 homes | $14,747 |
| Water damage & freezing | 26.6% | 1.50about 1 in 67 homes | $15,400 |
| All other property damage | 15.6% | 0.88about 1 in 114 homes | $9,043 |
| Fire & lightning | 4.1% | 0.23about 1 in 435 homes | $88,170 |
| Theft | 2.1% | 0.12about 1 in 833 homes | $5,524 |
| Liability (injury & damage to others) | 1.6% | 0.09about 1 in 1,111 homes | $29,880 |
| Credit card & other | 0.5% | 0.03about 1 in 3,333 homes | $16,080 |
| All causes (2019–2023 avg.) | 100% | 5.64 | $17,059 |
Average Homeowners Claim, 2019–2023
Claim frequency has stayed near 5–6 claims per 100 homes, but the average check has grown 44% as construction and repair costs rose.1
What’s Driving Home Claims Now
Paid by insurers on Texas homeowners claims in 2025 — wind and hail, water, fire, theft, liability and vandalism combined.2
Share of 2024 U.S. homeowners claims tied to catastrophe events such as severe convective storms.3
All-peril average claim severity rose 9% in 2024 even as claim frequency fell 11.6%; wind severity jumped 23.5%.3
Auto
The Most Common Car Claims — and the Most Expensive
Physical damage claims (collision and comprehensive) happen most often, but injury liability claims cost the most by far.
Auto Claims by Coverage Type
Approximate share of auto claims and claims per 100 insured vehicles per year, 2024.4
Share of claims calculated by Lavon Insurance by comparing 2024 ISO®/Verisk claim frequencies across the four coverages. Frequencies are measured among vehicles carrying each coverage, so shares are approximate. Physical damage figures are based on a $500 deductible; comprehensive excludes wind and water losses.
Average Auto Claim: 2015 vs. 2024
Average paid claim by coverage. Every coverage is meaningfully more expensive than a decade ago, led by property damage liability and bodily injury.4
Auto Claim Frequency & Severity, 2024
Paid-claim data for private passenger vehicles. Liability severity includes loss adjustment expenses.4
| Coverage | Share of claims | Claims per 100 vehicles / yr | Average claim | Change since 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CollisionDamage to your own car from hitting another vehicle or object | 36% | 4.16about 1 in 24 vehicles | $5,489 | +63% |
| ComprehensiveTheft, glass, animals, falling objects, vandalism (excludes wind & water) | 35% | 3.95about 1 in 25 vehicles | $2,306 | +37% |
| Property damage liabilityDamage you cause to someone else’s car or property | 22% | 2.50about 1 in 40 vehicles | $6,770 | +87% |
| Bodily injury liabilityInjuries you cause to other people | 7% | 0.80about 1 in 125 vehicles | $28,278 | +66% |
What’s Behind Rising Auto Claim Costs
Average bodily injury liability claim in 2024 — a single serious injury can exceed Texas’ 30/60/25 state minimum limits quickly.4
Estimated added personal auto liability losses from 2015–2024 attributed to economic and social inflation, including litigation trends.8
Average collision claim in 2024, up 63% since 2015 as vehicle technology and parts make repairs pricier.4
Car Accidents
How Often Crashes Happen — Nationally and in Texas
Most crashes damage only vehicles, but millions of people are hurt each year. In Texas, a reportable crash happens about once a minute.
Crash Types: Most Common vs. Most Deadly
Share of all U.S. police-reported crashes compared with share of fatal crashes, by the first thing the vehicle hit. Rear-end crashes are the most common; angle (broadside) and single-vehicle crashes account for the most deaths.10
NHTSA 2022 data (most recent year with this breakdown published). “Object not fixed” includes parked vehicles, animals, pedestrians, cyclists and trains. Shares of fatal crashes do not total 100% because a small number of fatal crashes had an unknown first harmful event.
How Likely Each Crash Type Is to Hurt Someone
Of each crash type, the share that injured or killed someone and the number of fatal crashes per 1,000 crashes. A head-on crash is about 14 times as likely to be fatal as a rear-end crash.10
| Crash type | U.S. crashes (2022) | Result in injury or death | Fatal crashes per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rear-endOne vehicle strikes the back of another | 1,686,082 | 27% | 1.7 |
| Angle (broadside / T-bone)Front of one vehicle hits the side of another, usually at intersections | 1,343,312 | 36% | 5.3 |
| Single vehicle vs. fixed objectPole, curb, ditch, tree, guardrail and similar | 875,453 | 31% | 12.8 |
| SideswipeVehicles traveling side by side make contact | 835,543 | 15% | 1.3 |
| Object not fixedParked car, animal, pedestrian, cyclist, train | 841,837 | 25% | 11.1 |
| Head-onFront ends of vehicles collide | 182,105 | 51% | 23.4 |
| Rollover & other non-collisionVehicle overturns without first striking something | 111,729 | 54% | 28.1 |
| Pedestrian strikesIncluded in “object not fixed” above | 68,886 | 98% | 100.6 |
| All police-reported crashes | 5,930,496 | 29% | 6.6 |
Calculated by Lavon Insurance from NHTSA Table 29 counts of fatal, injury and property-damage-only crashes.
How Badly People Are Hurt — and What It Costs
Of the roughly 4.5 million people injured in U.S. crashes in 2019 (reported and unreported), about 87% had minor injuries such as sprains, strains and bruises. Costs climb steeply with severity.12
Severity uses the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS), a person’s most serious injury. Example injuries are general descriptions. Cost per person includes medical care, lost wages and household work, legal and insurance administration, and property damage. Bar length shows the number of injured people at each level.
Medical Cost by Type of Crash Injury
Average medical cost per injured survivor treated at a hospital, by body region and severity (2019 dollars). Leg and hip fractures, brain injuries and spinal cord injuries drive the largest medical bills.12
| Injury type | Moderate (MAIS 2) | Serious (MAIS 3) |
|---|---|---|
| Leg, knee & hip fracture | $21,703 | $81,281 |
| Chest, abdomen & back (no fracture) | $17,548 | $41,033 |
| Rib, pelvis & spine fracture | $18,041 | $35,564 |
| Face, skull & neck fracture | $15,529 | $27,833 |
| Traumatic brain injury | $14,948 | $119,734 |
| Arm, wrist & shoulder fracture | $9,891 | $54,601 |
| Head & neck soft-tissue (no fracture) | $5,019 | $15,443 |
| Spinal cord injury | — | $428,095 |
Medical costs only; lost wages, legal costs and pain-and-suffering awards are additional. Spinal cord injuries are not rated below MAIS 3. Body-region labels simplified from NHTSA categories.
The Most Common Car-Accident Injury: Whiplash
Neck sprains and strains are the most frequently reported injuries in U.S. auto insurance claims, according to IIHS.14
An earlier IIHS analysis found neck sprains and strains were the most serious injury in about a third of injury claims, costing more than $8 billion a year.15
Average bodily injury payment rose from about $14,000 in 2017 to more than $20,000 in 2022; nearly half of claimants had an attorney by 2022.16
Top Causes of Texas Crashes, 2025
Crashes by contributing factor as recorded by Texas law enforcement. A crash can have more than one factor.13
Typical crash pattern labels are Lavon Insurance’s interpretation of each factor; TxDOT does not publish crash type by contributing factor in these reports.
2025 Crashes and Injuries by County
Reportable crashes, deaths and injuries for Lavon-area counties. Statewide, 76% of Texas crashes were collisions between moving vehicles; run-off-road crashes caused about 32% of deaths.13
| County | Crashes | Deaths | Serious injuries | All injuries* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collin | 15,533 | 65 | 356 | 7,864 |
| Dallas | 43,946 | 274 | 1,664 | 22,838 |
| Rockwall | 2,721 | 8 | 64 | 959 |
| Kaufman | 2,646 | 24 | 131 | 1,060 |
| Hunt | 1,815 | 25 | 93 | 842 |
| Texas statewide | 538,860 | 3,769 | 17,418 | 244,531 |
*Suspected serious, suspected minor and possible injuries; excludes injuries of unknown severity. TxDOT data as of April 7, 2026; counts may be revised.
Commercial General Liability
The Liability Claims Small Businesses Face Most
Customer injuries on business premises are now among the most common small business claims, and the cost of each one has more than doubled in a decade.
Top Small Business Claims by Frequency
Share of claims among The Hartford’s small business customers, 2020–2024. Slip, fall and customer injury claims — the core of general liability — tie for most common.5
Top Small Business Claims by Average Cost
Average claim cost, 2020–2024. Two of the five costliest claim types — customer injury and reputational harm — fall under a CGL policy.5
Reputational harm (libel, slander and similar claims) is generally covered under Coverage B – Personal & Advertising Injury of a standard CGL form. Coverage depends on the actual policy wording.
How CGL Claims Have Changed Since 2015
| Liability claim type | 2015 study | 2025 study | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slip, fall & customer injuryShare of small business claims | 10% | 20% | 2× |
| Slip, fall & customer injuryAverage claim cost | $20,000 | $45,000 | +125% |
| Reputational harmAverage claim cost | $50,000 | $35,000 | −30% |
| Product liabilityAverage claim cost | $35,000 | Not in 2025 top five | — |
| GL claim involving a lawsuitAverage cost to defend & settle | $75,000+ | — | — |
2015 figures from The Hartford’s 2015 small business claims study (five years of claims data); 2025 figures from its 2020–2024 claims data. Dollar amounts are not inflation-adjusted.56
A Few Big Claims Drive Most CGL Costs
Across U.S. general liability claims in 2025, a small slice of large and litigated claims accounted for most of the money paid.7
What’s Pushing General Liability Costs Up
Of 2025 GL claims, about 52% involved property damage and about 40% bodily injury.7
Closed litigated GL claims cost 37.5 times more on average than non-litigated claims in 2025; average paid per new GL claim rose 10.6%.7
Estimated added other-liability (occurrence) losses from 2015–2024 tied to economic and social inflation — roughly 27–34% of booked losses.8
Insurance Claims FAQs
What is the most common homeowners insurance claim?
Wind and hail. Nationally it accounts for about half of homeowners claims, and in Texas wind and hail have made up an average of 62% of homeowners losses since 2019. Water damage and freezing is a distant second.
What is the most expensive type of home insurance claim?
Fire and lightning. These claims are uncommon — about 1 in 435 homes per year — but the average fire claim was $88,170 over 2019–2023, roughly six times the average wind or water claim.
What is the most common auto insurance claim?
Collision, followed closely by comprehensive (theft, glass, animal strikes and similar). Bodily injury liability claims are the least frequent but by far the costliest, averaging $28,278 in 2024.
What is the most common type of car accident?
Rear-end collisions. They made up about 28% of all U.S. police-reported crashes in 2022, followed by angle (broadside or T-bone) crashes at about 23% and sideswipes at about 14%.
Which type of car accident is the most deadly?
Per crash, head-on collisions: about 23 of every 1,000 head-on crashes are fatal, roughly 14 times the rate for rear-end crashes. By total deaths, single-vehicle crashes into fixed objects and angle (broadside) crashes account for the most fatal crashes.
What is the most common car accident injury?
Neck sprains and strains, often called whiplash. IIHS reports they are the most frequently reported injuries in U.S. auto insurance claims, and they are closely tied to rear-end crashes.
What is the most common general liability claim for a small business?
Customer slips, falls and injuries. In The Hartford’s 2020–2024 data they made up about 20% of small business claims, with an average cost of $45,000.
Are these numbers what I would pay or receive on a claim?
No. These are industry-wide averages. Your actual premium, deductible and claim outcome depend on your property, vehicles, business operations, limits and policy wording. Talk with a licensed agent to review your coverage.
See how your coverage stacks up
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Where These Numbers Come From
- Triple-I (Insurance Information Institute), “Facts + Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance” — ISO®/Verisk data, 2019–2023. National data; excludes Alaska, Texas and Puerto Rico. View source
- Texas Department of Insurance, news release, June 22, 2026 — Texas homeowners paid losses (2025) and wind/hail share of losses since 2019. Source data: Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks. View source
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions, U.S. Home Trends Report 2025 (2024 claim year vs. 2023). View source
- Triple-I, “Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance” — Private Passenger Auto Insurance Losses, 2015–2024, ISO®/Verisk paid-claim data. View source
- The Hartford, “Water and Freezing Damage, Burglary Lead The Hartford’s Top Five Small Business Claims,” Dec. 9, 2025 — 2020–2024 claims from more than 1 million small business policies. View source
- Insurance Journal, “10 Most Common and Costliest Small Business Claims,” Apr. 9, 2015 — reporting The Hartford’s 2015 small business claims study. View source
- Sedgwick, State of the Line: Casualty – General Liability, 2025 Year-End — JURIS claims data, calendar years 2021–2025. View source
- Triple-I and Casualty Actuarial Society, “The Impact of Increasing Inflation on Liability Insurance: 2015–2024,” via Business Wire, Oct. 30, 2025. View source
- Texas Department of Insurance, Homeowners Losses by County (interactive map and downloadable data). View source
- NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2022: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Data (DOT HS 813 656), Table 29 – Crashes by First Harmful Event, Manner of Collision, and Crash Severity. View source
- NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report Tables, 2024 edition (updated June 2026) — estimated police-reported crashes, fatalities and injuries. View source
- NHTSA, The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised), DOT HS 813 403, Feb. 2023 — Tables 1-2, 1-3 and 3-2. View source
- Texas Department of Transportation, 2025 Crash Statistics — Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts; First Harmful Event of Crashes and Injuries by Severity; Crash Contributing Factors; Crashes and Injuries by County (data as of April 2026). View source
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “IIHS launches new whiplash prevention test,” Jan. 27, 2026. View source
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “Neck injury risk is lower if seats and head restraints are rated good,” Mar. 15, 2008 — State Farm and Nationwide claims data. View source
- Insurance Research Council, “Auto Injury Insurance Claims: A Study of Increasing Claim Severity,” news release, July 30, 2026 — 7.4 million claims, mid-2017 to mid-2022. View source
Figures are national or statewide industry averages and are not quotes, claim estimates or coverage advice. “Share of claims” values for homeowners and auto, and homeowners “share of claim dollars,” were calculated by Lavon Insurance from the published frequency and severity data. ISO/Verisk homeowners data excludes Texas; Texas-specific figures come from the Texas Department of Insurance. Small business figures reflect one carrier’s customers and may not represent all businesses. Publishers may revise their data after publication. Lavon Insurance is not affiliated with any source listed.