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SUV Owners of America Statement in Response To Conning Research & Consulting 'Study' Suggesting Car Insurance Subsidizing SUV Insurance

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2003 -- According to today's Wall Street Journal, a new "study" concludes that "car drivers may be overpaying their insurance premiums by about 10% to 15% a year." The reason cited is that "owners of smaller cars end up paying more to cover the increased risk and damage the larger vehicle can cause." The following statement is attributable to Jason H. Vines, president of the SUV Owner of America (SUVOA):

"This study by Conning Research may be the most appropriately named study in some time. Their conclusions are a complete 180 degrees from what is happening in the real world.

"According to data issued in September by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), part of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, injury loss and collision loss for SUVs is among the lowest among all vehicle types, while injury loss and collision loss for small cars is among the highest in the country. (See HLDI figures below.)

"If anything, SUV owners, driving their safer vehicles, getting in fewer injury and fatal crashes, are subsidizing small car owners' insurance. SUVs are more typically driven by the safest drivers -- mothers and fathers -- while small cars are disproportionately driven by this country's most accident-prone drivers, teenagers and young adults.

"Importantly, the latest government real world crash data shows that only a small percentage of small car fatalities occur from a collision with an SUV. The vast majority of small car occupant fatalities occur with a collision with another passenger car or in a single vehicular crash such as driving into a tree or ditch.

"We also know from real world government crash data that the majority of crashes, 97.5 percent, are front, side or rear collisions, and in those collisions small cars are two to three times less safe than SUVs."

     Analysis of HLDI 2003 Report on Injury and Collision Loss Among
       2000-2002 Vehicles And Top Ten Safest Vehicle Group Ranking

"Collisions that result in serious and fatal occupant injuries are relatively rare, so they have only a small influence on the insurance injury results reported," according to the HLDI publication. "Vehicles with high death rates often have high frequencies of insurance claims for occupant injuries. For example, small two-door and four-door cars typically have high death rates and higher-than-average insurance injury claims experience."

Injury losses and collision losses outlined below indicate the relative frequencies of injury and collision claims per insured vehicle year filed under Personal Injury Protection coverages in the 17 states and D.C. that offer such coverages. The latest HLDI data covers the 2000-2002 models years from their first sales in the fall of 1999 through May 2003. A total of 315 passenger vehicles were analyzed in the real world. All losses are stated in relative terms, with 100 representing the average injury loss for all vehicles. Below 100 is better than average, above is worse. The HLDI categorizes a loss of 70 or below as "substantially better than average"; 70 to 79 "better than average"; and 80 to 120 as the "average" range.

  For a copy of this report, go to www.highwaysafety.org.

  CARS                           Injury        Collision
  Four-Door Small Cars            141             117
  Two-Door Small Cars             133             132

  SUVs                           Injury        Collision
  2WD Very Large SUVs              31              46
  2WD Large SUVs                   47              64
  2WD Midsize SUVs                 83              80
  2WD Small SUVs                  109              85
  4WD Very Large SUVs              39              67
  4WD Large SUVs                   49              73
  4WD Midsize SUVs                 76              83
  4WD Small SUVs                   85              83

 The Top Ten Performing Vehicle Groups in HLDI Real World Injury Analysis

           2000-2002 Model Years Measured Fall 1999 to May 2003

  1. 2WD Very Large SUVs           31     Substantially better than average
  2. 2WD Very Large Pickups        34     Substantially better than average
  3. 4WD Very Large SUVs           39     Substantially better than average
  4. 4WD Very Large Pickups        41     Substantially better than average
  5. 4WD Large Pickups             44     Substantially better than average
  6. 2WD Large SUVs                47     Substantially better than average
  7. 4WD Large SUVs                49     Substantially better than average
  8. Small Sports Cars             50     Substantially better than average
  9. Luxury Very Large Cars        53     Substantially better than average
  10. Four-Door Very Large Cars    57     Substantially better than average

  Bottom Line:

* Despite holding about 25 percent of the new vehicle market, four of top ten performers, or 40 percent, in the real world injury analysis are SUVs, including the first and third ranking. SUVs are disproportionably safe.

* Seven of the top ten performers, or 70 percent, in the real world injury analysis are either SUVs or large pickup trucks, despite the fact they make up a little less than 50 percent of the new vehicle market.

* Two of the top ten performers in the real world injury analysis are very large cars and very large luxury cars, reinforcing the laws of physics in terms of crash safety.

* What appears to be an anomaly -- a low injury result for small sports cars -- fully reinforces HLDI's historical reference (see previous note) to the fact that sports cars are the one category of vehicles where injury rates are low, but fatality rates are high due to demographics and crash speed.

SUVOA was formed to give voice to the 24 million SUV owners whose rights are being trampled by special interest and activist groups, as well as to provide consumers with practical information about their SUVs. Founded in 1999, the group actively defends the rights of SUV owners and rebuts false charges regarding the safety and environmental record of SUVs. For more information, visit www.suvoa.com .