ATRI Study Examines How Fleets Are Managing Rising Insurance and Liability Costs

On May 19, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) published its latest study analyzing the rising costs of commercial vehicle liability insurance in the trucking industry and the risk management strategies trucking companies are using to mitigate those costs.

In the study, ATRI revealed that liability insurance premium costs increased by 18.6% between 2021 and 2024, reaching 10.2 cents per mile. It also found that, during the same period, accident rates involving heavy trucks decreased by 2.6% across the industry.

Increases in Excess Coverage Costs

ATRI conducted the study using data obtained directly from fleets representing a total of 105 to 145 trucks, with detailed multi-year information on each layer of their insurance policy packages, as well as other key operational and demographic data related to risk exposure. Based on this data, the study confirmed that the sharp increase in accident claim expenses was the main factor driving higher insurance costs. Liability losses per mile rose by an average of 33.1% during the three-year period (2021–2024).

The research also revealed that excess coverage costs increased at a faster rate than primary liability premiums. Between 2021 and 2024, premium costs for the $5 million to $10 million coverage layer increased by 34%, reaching 1.58 cents per mile, while the $10 million to $15 million layer rose by 45%, reaching 1.05 cents per mile.

Fleets operating between 5 and 25 trucks spent the most on premiums in 2024, paying 4.2 cents per mile more than fleets operating between 26 and 100 trucks. Smaller fleets are more likely than larger fleets to have specialized operations or fluctuating annual mileage, factors that contribute to higher and more variable per-mile costs.

ATRI noted that the increases in excess coverage expenses point to the role that runaway litigation is playing in driving up claim costs.

However, several risk management approaches produced positive results during this period:

• Fleets with greater retained risk in their primary coverage layer reported lower overall costs, regardless of fleet size.
• Fleets that reduced their total purchased coverage also saw an average 2.4% reduction in combined liability losses and premium costs the following year, after adjusting for inflation.

The ATRI report also includes benchmarks related to insurance coverage limits, deductible levels, self-insurance strategies, and the percentage of revenue fleets spend on insurance coverage.

Carriers Continue Seeking Improvements in Safety and Risk Management

ATRI concluded that rising insurance costs, especially in the area of commercial vehicle liability, are creating adverse financial pressures on trucking companies, which are currently struggling through a historic freight recession. Multiple factors are contributing to the sharp increases in premium costs that fleets have experienced over several years, including disproportionately high medical inflation, persistent unprofitability in the commercial auto segment of the insurance industry, and social inflation driven by unscrupulous plaintiff attorneys.

Despite these challenges, carriers continue to pursue improvements in safety and risk management, from enhanced driver training and the adoption of safety technology to more customized coverage and more responsible risk retention, ATRI noted.