New HLDI Data: These Car Safety Features Cut Your Insurance Claims by Up to 39%

The more driver safety technology your car has, the less likely it is to generate an insurance claim — and new federal data now proves exactly how much each system matters. Research published March 26, 2026 by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows that bundled advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) cut property damage liability insurance claims by up to 39%, with rear automatic emergency braking (rear AEB) delivering the single biggest boost of any individual feature.

For anyone shopping for a car — or wondering whether their current vehicle's safety tech is actually doing anything — the data sends a clear signal: these systems compound their benefits as more are added, and they're increasingly reflected in how insurers set rates.

What the HLDI Study Found

HLDI's latest research analyzed 2015–2023 Mazda vehicles equipped with six different ADAS bundles and four standalone systems. Researchers compared insurance claim rates across three coverage types: property damage liability (PDL), which pays for damage you cause to other people's vehicles or property; bodily injury liability (BIL), which pays for injuries you cause to others; and collision, which covers damage to your own vehicle.

The study examined how claim rates changed as Mazda progressively bundled more technology into each model year — not only adding new features but also refining the older ones. That means the biggest bundles had both more features and better versions of earlier tech.

Bundle	Key Features Added	PDL Reduction	BIL Reduction
Bundle 1	Front AEB + forward collision warning	-13%	-9%
Bundle 2	+ High-beam assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise	-16%	-18%
Bundle 3	+ Lane departure prevention	-19%	-21%
Bundle 4	+ Pedestrian AEB	-30%	-18%
Bundle 5	+ Driver Attention Alert	-23%	N/A*
Bundle 6	+ Rear AEB	-39%	-21%

*Bundle 5 showed no additional BIL benefit from Driver Attention Alert — the system only activates after 20+ minutes of highway driving and doesn't help in the urban/suburban scenarios where most claims occur.

Why Rear AEB Is the Game-Changer

The jump from Bundle 4 to Bundle 6 — with rear AEB as the key addition — accounts for the most dramatic reduction in the entire study: from 30% to 39% in property damage claims. The reason comes down to where most insurance claims actually happen: parking lots.

Low-speed backing incidents — hitting a post, another car, or a pedestrian while reversing — make up a large share of PDL claims. Rear AEB specifically targets these scenarios. Unlike front AEB, which handles highway-speed and intersection crashes, rear AEB is doing its job every time you back out of a parking space.

Standalone Systems That Work

Beyond the bundles, HLDI evaluated four standalone features. Blind spot detection combined with rear cross traffic alert — which warns you of vehicles approaching from the side while you're reversing — was associated with a nearly 10% drop in PDL claims and a 13% reduction in BIL claims. In Mazda vehicles, both features share the same rear-bumper radar sensors and can't be purchased separately.

Curve-adaptive headlights (which pivot to illuminate your turning path) and heads-up displays (which project speed and navigation onto the windshield) each delivered smaller but meaningful claim reductions across PDL, BIL, and collision coverage.

The exception was Traffic Sign Recognition — a feature that uses a camera or navigation system to display speed limits and stop signs on your dashboard. It showed no clear reduction in claims, and may have been associated with a slight increase in some categories. HLDI noted the sample size was limited, and the technology's limitations in detecting all sign types may play a role.

The Catch: Safety Tech Raises Per-Crash Repair Costs

There's an important nuance buried in this data. While safety features dramatically reduce how often crashes happen, they increase the average cost of each crash that does occur. Radar sensors, forward cameras, and parking sensors are expensive to repair or replace when they're damaged — even in a minor fender-bender.

But the overall math still works in drivers' favor. HLDI found that nearly all bundles and standalone features were associated with lower overall losses under PDL coverage when both frequency and severity are combined. Crashes happening less often outweighs the higher per-incident repair bill. The one exception: collision coverage showed slight increases in overall losses for some bundles, driven by the higher cost of repairing ADAS-equipped vehicles when collisions do happen.

What This Means for Your Insurance Rate

Insurers don't yet pass the full 39% claim reduction directly to individual drivers — rate-setting considers your driving history, location, and many other factors. But HLDI data directly informs how carriers set rates for specific vehicle makes and models over time. Vehicles with comprehensive ADAS packages have historically ended up in lower rate tiers as the claims evidence accumulates.

Some carriers already offer explicit discounts for specific safety technologies. If your car has rear AEB, blind spot monitoring, or an automatic emergency braking package, it's worth calling your insurer and asking whether those features qualify for a discount on your policy.

Looking Ahead

This study covered Mazda's ADAS evolution from 2015 to 2023, but the technology has continued advancing. HLDI plans to evaluate newer model years and additional manufacturers as insurance claims data accumulates. As these systems become standard equipment across more vehicles, their impact should become more directly visible in insurance premiums — eventually rewarding buyers who prioritize safety tech with meaningfully lower rates.

IIHS's 2026 Top Safety Pick program already reflects the growing importance of ADAS — and as more vehicles earn top ratings with comprehensive driver assistance packages, consumers should expect safety tech to become an increasingly central factor in how their insurance is priced.

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