Guide: commercial auto
Commercial auto loss runs: reading them by coverage, vehicle and driver
A commercial auto loss run lists claims under several coverage parts, such as liability, collision and comprehensive, and may show the unit and driver involved. Many underwriters read it against fleet size, so summarize claims by coverage and year with the vehicle count beside them.
General information, not advice. This is not insurance, legal or financial advice. Requirements differ by carrier, state and market; follow the instructions of the market you are approaching.
What is different about auto
Several coverage parts, and claims that mean little without the fleet
One auto policy carries several coverage parts. Liability, meaning bodily injury and property damage, is where large and slow claims sit. Collision and comprehensive are frequent and smaller, and tied to deductibles. Totals that blend them hide the liability picture.
Frequency means little without exposure: a fleet of ten and a fleet of forty will not produce the same number of claims. Fleet size for each year comes from the vehicle schedule. Some carriers print the unit, the driver and whether a claim was at fault or preventable, and many do not. Use what the report shows and do not infer the rest. The large loss summary format works for auto too.
Steps
What to summarize for an underwriter
The loss run is the record. The summary is how you point to what matters in it.
- Split claims by coverage partShow liability, physical damage and the other parts on separate lines for each policy year.
- Put the fleet beside the claimsAdd the power-unit count for each year from the vehicle schedule, so claims can be read per unit.
- Show liability in detailList the largest liability claims with status and reserve. Give each open bodily injury claim a note, as in open claims on a loss run.
- Add vehicle and driver context only where the report supports itIf one unit or driver appears on several claims, note it as a fact. Driver lists and motor vehicle records are separate documents.
- Check recoveriesPhysical damage claims may show subrogation recoveries. Confirm whether paid is before or after them.
Reference
Coverage parts: what the claims look like and what to show
| Coverage part | What the claims tend to look like | What to show |
|---|---|---|
| Liability, bodily injury | Typically fewer claims, larger and slower to close | Each open claim with status and reserve, and the largest by year |
| Liability, property damage | More frequent and smaller | Count and total by year |
| Collision | Frequent, tied to deductibles, sometimes recovered from others | Count, total and recoveries by year |
| Comprehensive | Theft, glass, weather and animal strikes | Count and total by year, apart from driving claims |
| Medical payments or PIP | Occupant injuries, with rules that vary by state | Count and total by year |
| Uninsured and underinsured motorist | Injury claims where the at-fault driver has little or no insurance | Count and total by year |
| Hired and non-owned | Liability from vehicles the insured rents, hires or borrows, or that employees use on its business | On its own line, if the policy carries the coverage |
Pitfalls
What goes wrong
- Claims without fleet size. A growing fleet shows more claims without being worse, and a shrinking one shows fewer.
- Coverage parts blended. Many small physical damage claims bury the liability claims that drive severity.
- Detail added that the report does not carry. If the report prints no driver or fault, the summary should not either.
- Recoveries ignored. A recovered collision claim can look cheaper than it was, or the reverse.
- Two reports for one year. Liability and physical damage are sometimes written by different carriers. Make sure both are in.
The tool
How LossRun Pro helps
LossRun Pro labels the line Auto when the report's title or coverage wording names auto, and keeps the coverage wording as printed in its own column. A coverage part printed alone is labeled Auto when it reads collision, comprehensive, comp/coll or physical damage; other parts printed alone, such as uninsured motorist, can still be labeled Other, so check the line column before you filter. A column headed Unit, Unit No. or Vehicle is kept in the schedule's Unit column and noted in the read, and a column headed Driver is read as the claimant. Other vehicle detail, such as VIN, make or model, has no column of its own, so add it from the PDF and your vehicle schedule. Try it on the loss run to Excel page. Free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. Files over 10 pages are converted up to page 10 on the free allowance; a page code converts the whole file, up to 150 pages. See pricing.
FAQ
Questions about commercial auto loss runs
What is on a commercial auto loss run?
Claims by policy year with the coverage part, the dates of loss and report, status, paid, reserve and incurred. Some reports also print the unit, the driver and whether the claim was at fault.
Should liability and physical damage be shown separately?
Usually, yes. Liability claims are typically fewer but larger, and blending them with frequent small physical damage claims hides them.
How do underwriters compare auto frequency?
Many compare claim counts with the number of power units, miles or drivers for each year. Take the exposure figures from your own records, since the loss run does not hold them.
Do loss runs show the driver?
Some do and some do not. If the report prints a driver, use it as printed. Driver lists and motor vehicle records come from the insured, not from the loss run.
What is a subrogation recovery?
Money the carrier recovers from a party that was at fault. It can reduce paid on a claim, mostly on physical damage. Check whether the report shows paid before or after recoveries.
How do I show a changing fleet?
Put the unit count for each policy year beside the claim count and incurred. See loss ratio from loss runs for rates per unit.