Commercial auto insurance loss severity rose about 5 percent per year during the five-year period ending 2019, as the proportion of claims that had attorney involvement increased to nearly 30 percent, according to an actuarial report.

The report, “Trends in Attorney Representation: U.S. Commercial Automobile Insurance,” prepared by actuaries from Milliman for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, using data from nine property/casualty insurance companies (with large national or very large regional commercial auto insurance books), showed that 29.9 percent of 2019 closed commercial auto claims for these carriers had attorney representation, compared to 24.9 percent at the start of the review period in 2015.