Research Publications

Evaluation of Motor Vehicle Records

This study evaluates state motor vehicle records as a source of information on individual driver accidents and convictions in the 37 states that made available such information as of 1983. The study shows great variability among states in the amount of accident and conviction information found on publicly available state records, and provides explanations for these differences across states.

Uninsured Motorist: Facts & Figures (1984)

This study pulls together available statistics on uninsured and hit-and-run motorists countrywide and on a state-by-state basis. It includes information on the historical development of the uninsured motorist coverage, characteristics of uninsured motorists, estimates of the size of the uninsured motorists problem by state, and on state laws pertaining to uninsured and underinsured motorists.

Structured Settlements

Insurance companies are making increasing use of annuities and other forms of "structured" settlements in lieu of lump-sum payments to disabled or seriously injured liability claimants. This report contains findings of a survey involving 54 major property-casualty insurers concerning their use of the technique, criteria used for making structured settlement offers, funding arrangements and other aspects.

Public Attitude Monitor 1983

In addition to covering many of the auto-related topics probed in the three previous PAM surveys, the 1983 study introduces a number of new topics including public perceptions of homeowners insurance, types of coverage, cost of owning and operating a car, gender-neutral insurance rating factors, and drunk driving.

Public Attitude Monitor 1982

Topics explored in this third PAM study include: cost of owning and operating a car, perceptions about the cost of auto insurance and auto insurance rating factors, items influencing car purchase decisions, support for drunk driving countermeasures, and extent of accident reporting.

Insurer Study of PIP Serious Injury Claims: Second Follow-up 1982

This report monitors the progress of 420 seriously injured crash victims whose files were initially surveyed as part of Automobile Injuries and Their Compensation in the United States. This is the second follow-up survey of the survivors. In addition to tracking survival rates and updating expected costs, the study includes a new count of large-loss claims open as of year-end 1981 in the three surveyed states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey).

Geographical Differences in Automobile Insurance Costs

The study describes how the number and cost of auto insurance claims vary from one area to another, leading to differences in insurance premiums by territory. Using data from Connecticut, Ohio and Florida, the study also correlates insurance rates by territory with data on population density, accidents reported to state motor vehicle departments and auto thefts reported to police. Out of Print

Availability and Use of Business Insurance by Urban Small Businesses: A Survey

A survey of 1,845 owners of small mercantile and service businesses in Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia explores perceptions about availability and affordability of business insurance, and reports on experiences in buying it.

Arson Incidence Claim Study

A survey of 13,418 insurance company claim files was conducted to determine the incidence of suspected arson in fire claims for homes and businesses. The report also discusses probable motives for the suspected arson fires, to the extent that motives could be determined.

Catalog of Indices

This is a compendium of information about frequently quoted indices relevant to property and casualty insurance, published by public and private sources. The report describes the characteristics of each index and provides ordering information.