Commercial auto insurance costs are rising due to a combination of external factors that are increasing both the frequency and severity of claims across the industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, auto insurance rose 11.1% year over year as of early 2025, far ahead of the next strongest inflation contributors including education (3.7%) and medical care (2.9%) (SambaSafety Driver Risk Report).
Understanding what is driving these increases can help fleet and safety leaders focus on the factors within their control. While several external forces are pushing claims costs higher across the industry, one key factor stands out as something fleets can directly address: the driving behaviors behind those claims.
Vehicle Repair Costs and Tariffs
Modern commercial vehicles are built with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), lightweight materials, and sophisticated sensors and cameras. While these technologies improve safety, they have significantly increased the cost of repairs. Even minor collisions now require recalibration of sensors and camera systems, specialized labor, and longer repair times, meaning what used to be a minor fender-bender can now cost several times more than it would have five years ago.
The average number of replacement parts per repair job has grown 15% over the past five years, and labor and diagnostics are now the greatest contributors to total repair cost (SambaSafety Driver Risk Report). Tariffs on imported auto parts are expected to compound the problem, with nearly $90 billion in annual imported auto parts subject to cost increases that will be felt across the industry.
>>> For the full data behind these trends, download our latest Driver Risk Report.
Medical Inflation
Medical and physician services have increased 10% since early 2020 (SambaSafety Driver Risk Report). This is especially significant because the same risky behaviors driving up crash frequency, speeding and distracted driving, also tend to produce higher-severity injuries that require more expensive treatment. The result is a compounding effect: more crashes, with more serious injuries, at a higher cost per claim.
Nuclear Verdicts and Social Inflation
Nuclear verdicts, jury awards exceeding $10 million, have surged in both frequency and size. In 2024, 135 corporate lawsuits resulted in a nuclear verdict, a 52% increase over 2023, with total awards reaching $31.3 billion (Marathon Strategies). The trucking and automotive sectors are disproportionately affected.
These verdicts are not happening in a vacuum. They are fueled by social inflation, the increase in claim costs beyond what normal economic inflation would predict. According to Travelers, several forces are at work:
- Desensitization to large dollar amounts
- Declining sentiment toward corporations
- Erosion of tort reform in several states
- Growth in third-party litigation funding
The combined effect of nuclear verdicts and social inflation puts upward pressure on premiums across the entire commercial auto market, not just for the companies directly involved in litigation.
>>> Learn how to protect your fleet from rising legal exposure. Download our free guide: Building a Data-Driven Defense Against Nuclear Verdicts.
Speed and Distracted Driving: The Factor Within Your Control
The first three factors, repair costs, medical inflation, and the legal environment, are external market forces that no single fleet can change. But risky driving behavior is different. This is the one area where fleets have direct influence, and it happens to be one of the largest contributors to claims frequency and severity.
Two behaviors stand out above the rest: speeding and distracted driving.
Speeding now accounts for nearly 40% of all major violations, and its share has steadily increased each year (SambaSafety Driver Risk Report). That matters because a speeding violation increases the likelihood of a future crash by 47%. Nearly one-third of traffic-related fatalities in 2023 involved a driver who was speeding.
Distracted driving compounds the problem. Nearly 40% of Americans reported reading texts or emails while driving in the last 30 days (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety).
The connection between these behaviors and insurance costs is direct. More crashes with greater severity means higher claims, and higher claims drive up premiums for everyone.
What Fleets Can Do About Rising Costs
While three of the four forces behind rising premiums are beyond any single fleet's control, the driving behaviors that contribute to crashes and claims are not. How you choose to monitor, intervene, and address those behaviors can make a measurable difference in your risk profile and your insurance costs. Discover our top six strategies to reduce your fleet insurance costs.
For the full data and analysis behind the trends covered in this post, download our latest Driver Risk Report.
