Do you remember that critics used to claim that the aluminum bodies of the modern Ford F-150 would lead to much higher repairs costs, but the new Ford F-150trucks actually cost less to repair.

According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the “collision claim severity” is 7% lower for the 2015 and 2016 Ford F-150 than it was for the steel-bodied 2014 F-150. The group cites the lowered cost of repairs for this 7% decline in claim severity, so based on that information, a given accident with a 2015+ F-150 is going to cost you about 7% less than it would if a 2014 F-150 was involved in the same accident.

It should be noted that the Highway Loss Data Institute has seen an increase in claims of 7% during the study of the 2015 and 2016 Ford F-150, so the overall impact on the insurance world has not changed. Insurance companies expected to incur far higher costs with the 2015+ F-150, but that is not the case at all. However, that bit of information matters far less to the average truck buyer than the fact that the aluminum body actually costs less to repair.

 

They've been making buses out of aluminum for years without issues.

 

So, the insurance companies probably raised their rates expecting higher claims cost. Will they lower them now? Probably not. Yeah, I'm cynical when it comes to insurance companies.

 

They already said "It should be noted that the Highway Loss Data Institute has seen an increase in claims of 7% during the study of the 2015 and 2016". How convenient! They've already found another factor that exactly offsets their 7% excessive costs model and now they have perfect excuse as to why they're NOT going to lower the insurance rates.

I had a wise old bird (colonel) that once told me that "figures lie and that liars figure". It sounds like a perfect description of the insurance companies!

 

The largest factor in auto body repair is the costs of the parts. Therefore it's up to FORD to determine whether the aluminium bodied trucks are cheaper to repair than the steel bodied ones or vice versa. Time will tell.