A metric that finance companies often watch is the number of vehicles in their portfolio that become a total loss when involved in a crash.

Levine and Wiss — a personal injury attorney law firm in New York — recently researched 50 vehicles with the highest reported accidents to identify which ones have the highest chance of being totaled during a crash.

The firm generated a report with data about the total number of accidents, total loss claims per 100 vehicles and 2023 sales.

By analyzing the total loss claims per 100 vehicles and the 2023 sales, the loss claims were calculated. Then, the number of loss claims was compared to the total accidents to identify the percentage of accidents resulting in totaling the car. These numbers were analyzed to make a scoring system.

And remember that an insurance company will consider totaling a vehicle when its repair costs are more than its value.

So, what did Levine and Wiss learn?

Researchers found the Ford Mustang came in with the highest total-loss accident rate at a score of 64.8. Recording 4,521 accidents, with 660 total loss claims, 14.6% of accidents involving the Mustang result in totaling the vehicle.

“This car is not involved in many accidents, but when it takes place, there is a big risk of totaling,” Levine and Wiss said in a news release.

Another Blue Oval vehicle was right behind in second place with a score of 63.7. According to Levine and Wiss, the Ford Focus has 15 total loss claims per 100 vehicles, resulting in 1,927 claims to report a totaled car.

“The totaling rate is not much different from the Mustang, except it’s involved in more accidents,” researchers said.

And coming in third with a score of 58.9 was the Chevrolet Silverado LD. Matching the Ford Focus, researchers determined the Silverado LD has 15 total loss claims per 100 vehicles and a total of 771 claims.

“The car is two times less involved in accidents, hence why it has the third spot on the ranking,” the firm said.

Here is the rundown of the top 10 from Levine and Wiss:

Car Model Number of Accidents Total Loss Claims (per 100 vehicles) Total Loss Claims 2023 Sales % of accidents resulting in totaling Composite Score
Ford Mustang 4,521 15 660 197,947 14.60% 64.8
Ford Focus 13,289 15 1,927 295,201 14.50% 63.7
Chevrolet Silverado LD 5,314 15 771 200,381 14.50% 58.9
Dodge Challenger 4,125 14 586 222,216 14.20% 53.9
Ford Fusion 15,874 14 2,238 110,665 14.10% 51.1
Subaru WRX 5,731 14 808 121,282 14.10% 48.0
Ford Taurus 9,874 14 1,382 154,385 14.00% 47.5
Kia Stinger 7,125 14 990 158,385 13.90% 45.7
Lexus ES 3,125 14 434 128,932 13.90% 45.5
Chevrolet Cruze 12,321 14 1,713 47,975 13.90% 38.7