By Lewis Nibbelin, Research Writer, Triple-I
Commercial trucking insurance costs have hit record highs in recent years, driven by rising litigation and claims severity trends even as crash rates decreased, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).
From 2021 to 2024, average liability premiums climbed more than 18%, to 10.2 cents per mile, outpacing consumer inflation by 5.4 points. While accidents involving large trucks fell 2.6% over the same period, per-mile liability losses jumped by 33%, indicating mounting claims expenses are largely to blame for the rise in insurance costs.
Part of the discrepancy between crash and loss rates lies in external economic pressures, particularly a medical care inflation rate that continues to eclipse consumer inflation overall. Excessive litigation trends also play a role, with the upper half of payouts rising at an annual rate of 5.7% over the past decade. Total case numbers followed a similar trajectory during this period, growing at an average annual rate of 3.7%.
A study from Triple-I and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) reinforces ATRI’s findings, showing that legal system abuse contributed to more than $230 billion in increased liability insurance losses from 2015 to 2024 – a surge that far exceeds what economic inflation alone could explain.
High litigation costs “are ultimately passed to all motor carriers through higher collective insurance premiums,” ATRI explained, which tactics like third-party litigation funding can further exacerbate by “enabling more frivolous lawsuits and discouraging settlements.” As such, both lawsuit abuse and the cost and availability of insurance ranked among the industry’s three most pressing issues in a separate ATRI 2025 survey, alongside the economy.
ATRI’s findings echo the broader commercial auto segment’s ongoing profitability struggles, which persisted into 2025 even as signs of stability emerged in the overall property/casualty industry. Though many cost drivers are beyond carriers’ control, ATRI suggested various opportunities to reduce exposure, including through investments in safety training and technology. Legal system reforms have also been linked to lower premiums in several states.
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