Higher Deductibles Are Changing the Auto Insurance Claims Game

More drivers are deciding some fender benders aren’t even worth reporting to their insurance companies. If repair costs land in the neighborhood of their deductible, drivers may conclude that paying out of pocket is less painful than facing a premium increase after a claim.

Filing a claim can increase car insurance premiums by 35% at renewal, according to Insurify data. That significant impact could help explain why drivers paid out of their own pockets for 26% of all repair jobs in the first half of 2026.

More than 71% of those self-paid repairs cost less than $2,000, averaging around $1,941 each time, according to CCC Intelligent Solutions, an auto claims and collision repair technology company. And, in more than 28% of repairable claims, policyholders had deductibles of $1,000 or more, up from nearly 26% last year, and just 20% in 2022.

Choosing a higher deductible usually means lower premiums as drivers agree to shoulder more risk before insurance steps in to pay. But according to CCC, this trend isn’t just shifting costs from insurers to drivers — it’s changing the entire mix of claims insurers see.

Drivers increasingly pay their own repair bills

A higher deductible means drivers might be more willing to pay out of pocket for small damages, put off repairs, or simply learn to live with damaged vehicles. As a result, insurers are seeing fewer small claims. Bigger, pricier accidents are accounting for a larger portion of claims, making the average claim look more expensive, even if repair costs aren’t rising as fast.

The average repairable claim cost $4,821, and about three out of four topped $2,000, according to CCC.

About 20% of repairable collision and comprehensive insurance claims now cost less than $2,000, down from around 35% in 2020. Collision claims costing less than $3,000 have fallen more than 18 percentage points since 2020 and now make up 36.6% of repairable claims.

But that doesn’t mean cheap accidents have disappeared.

Instead, CCC says, many drivers are just taking care of smaller repairs on their own, skipping insurance altogether.

And it isn’t simply owners of old cars declining to file claims. Vehicles 6 years old or newer accounted for about 56% of self-paid repairs, nearly the same share as insured repair claims.

Overall claims frequency through September was down nearly 4% from the same period last year, while repairable estimates fell about 5%.

But those numbers can be deceiving if people are just not reporting the cheaper dings and dents.

More total losses

This shift is also shaking up another key insurance stat: total losses.

Through the second quarter of this year, total losses accounted for about 24% of all claims, across all loss categories, up from nearly 23% a year earlier and well above 2022 levels. But that increase doesn’t mean cars are suddenly easier to total, CCC said.

Part of the reason is just math. When drivers stop filing the small stuff, fewer cheap claims are part of the mix, and total losses make up a bigger slice of the pie.

But America’s aging car fleet is also playing a role.

In the first half of 2026, cars 7 years or older made up 74% of total-loss valuations. Older cars are faster to hit the repair cost threshold for a total loss because their value is lower and the repair costs for those vehicles remain high.

The trade-off for consumers

Opting for a bigger deductible can still be a smart money move for people who have the savings to back it up. But the decision comes with strings attached.

Bumping a deductible from $500 to $1,000 means paying $500 more out of pocket for every covered accident. And skipping filing smaller claims means footing the whole repair bill alone.

That can be difficult for households already struggling to afford insurance. The average cost of full-coverage car insurance rose 1% in the first half of 2026, landing at $2,237 per year, according to Insurify data.

A survey from VIU by HUB found 67% of policyholders said an unexpected $1,000 home or auto expense would be difficult to cover. And 21% described it as a serious hardship or significant struggle.

CCC’s report ultimately describes the 2026 claims environment in five words: “Fewer, but more complex claims.”

But for everyday drivers, this trend feels a bit different.

A higher deductible might make the policy cheaper up front. But when an accident happens, more drivers wonder whether they can actually afford to use their insurance.

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