Insurers are already acutely aware of the linkage between gas prices and the number of vehicle miles traveled. What may be less apparent, however, are the myriad ways in which persistently high fuel prices affect consumer decisions and behavior that directly impact both the severity and frequency of auto insurance claims.

Mitchell International, Inc. explores the relation of volatile fuel pricing to claims in the third quarter 2011 edition of its Industry Trends Report (ITR), which offers a quarterly snapshot of the auto physical damage collision and casualty industries. Supporting his assertions with statistics from various sources, Greg Horn, ITR editor-in-chief and Mitchell's vice president of industry relations, delves into the company's total loss valuation data warehouse to explain how the year's rapid changes in gas pricing are impacting resale values for cars of various fuel efficiencies in different ways.

"To determine the relationship between fuel price spikes and values, we examined the Toyota Corolla, Prius and the Ford Expedition as representatives of the fuel-efficient, hybrid and gas guzzler vehicle categories," said Horn in the quarterly feature, "Timing is Everything: Total Loss Values and Gas Prices."