Researchers from Florida State University Describe Findings in Insurance (Availability of the Seat Belt Defense: Implications for Auto Liability Insurance): Insurance

2024 FEB 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Policy and Law Daily -- Current study results on Insurance have been published. According to news originating from Tallahassee, Florida, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “A ‘seat belt defense’ allows a defendant in a third-party auto liability event to present evidence of seat belt nonuse to reduce a plaintiff’s recovery. When successfully applied, the defense has a direct effect on reducing liability payouts by insurers for accidents.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Florida State University, “Our analysis reveals that seat belt defense laws are associated with a 10% reduction in auto claims costs, which equates to a reduction in loss costs of approximately $14 per insured vehicle. We find little evidence that the defense reduces accident frequency and no evidence that the defense affects seat belt usage. The lack of a deterrent effect on driving behavior suggests that the availability of the defense is not salient to drivers. The reduction in loss costs supports the notion that defense lawyers are aware of the defense and make use of it.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The resulting effect of lowering insurance payouts may alleviate increasing auto insurance costs.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Availability of the Seat Belt Defense: Implications for Auto Liability Insurance. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2024. Journal of Risk and Insurance can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Journal of Risk and Insurance - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1539-6975)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from J. Bradley Karl, Florida State University, Dept Risk Management Insurance Real Estate & Legal, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States. Additional authors for this research include Patricia Born and Charles Nyce.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/jori.12458. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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