IIHS
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent nonprofit scientific organization founded in 1959 that conducts vehicle crashworthiness and crash avoidance testing, publishes Top Safety Pick awards, and produces insurance loss data analytics, wholly funded by auto insurers to reduce roadway deaths and injuries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersRuckersville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What IIHS does
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with a Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, Virginia, where physical crash testing and safety evaluations are conducted. IIHS is wholly supported by auto insurers and insurance associations and operates alongside the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), which provides scientific studies of insurance loss data by vehicle make and model. The organization's stated mission is to reduce deaths, injuries, and property damage from motor vehicle crashes. Vehicle safety ratings are provided to consumers free of charge and the organization is not commercially compensated for its evaluations.
The core technical product is the IIHS Vehicle Ratings System, which evaluates vehicles across multiple categories including moderate overlap front, small overlap front, side impact, roof strength, whiplash prevention, headlight performance, seat belt reminders, LATCH child restraint ease-of-use, and front crash prevention (AEB) systems. Evaluation infrastructure includes Hybrid III and SID-IIs crash test dummies spanning 5th-percentile female to 50th-percentile male body sizes. Ratings are published as Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor, with vehicles meeting the highest cross-category thresholds designated Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+. In 2025-2026, IIHS updated test protocols (Moderate Overlap 2.0, Side Impact 2.0, Front Crash Prevention 2.0) and launched its first commercial vehicle safety ratings program covering cargo vans and heavy-duty pickups, addressing a segment where federal crashworthiness mandates do not apply.
The business model is membership-funded rather than revenue-generating: IIHS-HLDI does not sell ratings or charge consumers, and all operations are funded by member auto insurers and insurance associations who in turn gain access to HLDI loss-data analytics for underwriting and risk assessment. Distribution is primarily free and digital through iihs.org, augmented by an earned-media operation (Cision/MultiVu), a Status Report newsletter, and an active social media presence. Additional products include HLDI insurance loss analytics for member companies and Crash Science in the Classroom, a free STEM educational platform for grades 5-12. In 2025, IIHS launched the 30x30 initiative to reduce U.S. roadway fatalities 30% by 2030.
IIHS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- IIHS
- Legal name
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute
- Website
- https://iihs.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent nonprofit scientific organization founded in 1959 that conducts vehicle crashworthiness and crash avoidance testing, publishes Top Safety Pick awards, and produces insurance loss data analytics, wholly funded by auto insurers to reduce roadway deaths and injuries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
IIHS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vehicle Safety Testing and Research
- NAICS
- Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) & Inspection Services (IMAIACAI)
Keywords
Where IIHS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ruckersville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
IIHS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
IIHS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IIHS is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that conducts rigorous crashworthiness and crash avoidance testing of passenger and commercial vehicles, publishing the results as Good/Acceptable/Marginal/Poor ratings and awarding Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ designations. Through its affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), it also publishes insurance loss data analytics for member auto insurers. The organization offers free ratings to consumers and free STEM educational resources (Crash Science in the Classroom) for grades 5-12.
Product overview
IIHS operates as a nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from motor vehicle crashes. The core product is the IIHS Vehicle Ratings system, which provides rigorous crashworthiness and crash avoidance evaluations for passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards recognize vehicles meeting the highest safety standards. Through the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) division, IIHS provides insurance loss data analytics to the insurance industry. The Crash Science in the Classroom educational platform extends the organization's mission to K-12 education with free STEM resources about vehicle safety science.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IIHS Vehicle Ratings System
Quantifiable outcome
- IIHS crashworthiness tests have saved nearly 50,000 lives since the program's launch
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use IIHS
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
IIHS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
IIHS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
IIHS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP): China's vehicle safety rating program managed by CATARC that conducts crash tests and publishes star ratings. C-NCAP is a regional NCAP peer whose large domestic vehicle market makes it strategically important for global OEMs and a parallel testing-and-rating operation to IIHS.
- Latin NCAP: Vehicle safety assessment program covering Latin America and the Caribbean, publishing crashworthiness and safety-assist ratings with support from Global NCAP. Latin NCAP is a regional peer of IIHS with similar mission and methodology but focused on Latin American markets.
- Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP): Australia and New Zealand vehicle safety rating program that publishes 1- to 5-star ratings based on crash and safety-assist tests. ANCAP is a regional NCAP peer with similar test protocols to IIHS and Euro NCAP, serving the Australasian market rather than competing directly in the U.S.
- Korea New Car Assessment Program (KNCAP): Korean vehicle safety rating program that evaluates crashworthiness and active safety for the South Korean market. KNCAP is a regional NCAP peer with comparable test methods and consumer-facing rating structure to IIHS.
- Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP): Japanese government-administered vehicle safety assessment program that evaluates new vehicles for crashworthiness and active safety. JNCAP is a regional NCAP peer that performs functionally equivalent ratings to IIHS in the Japanese domestic market.
Broad incumbents
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): U.S. federal agency that conducts its own New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crashworthiness and crash-avoidance ratings, sets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and is the direct government counterpart to IIHS. NHTSA is the broadest incumbent in the vehicle-safety testing space; IIHS differentiates by being independent, more rigorous on certain protocols, and able to integrate insurance loss data.
- Global NCAP: Umbrella organization that coordinates regional NCAP programs (Latin NCAP, ANCAP, India, ASEAN, etc.) and campaigns for safer vehicles in emerging markets. Global NCAP is a broad incumbent in the same testing-and-rating space as IIHS, with a more international-development and advocacy mandate rather than a deep U.S. consumer-rating focus.
Others
- UL Solutions (Underwriters Laboratories): Global safety-science company that operates independent testing, inspection, and certification laboratories across product categories. UL is an adjacent testing-and-certification peer whose operating model (industry-funded third-party safety certification) and laboratory infrastructure are structurally similar to IIHS, though its automotive footprint is more focused on components and supply chain rather than whole-vehicle ratings.
Emerging players
- Consumer Reports (Auto Test Program): Independent consumer-product testing organization whose Auto Test program conducts instrumented vehicle testing and integrates crash-test results (often from IIHS) into overall vehicle recommendations. Consumer Reports is an adjacent testing player that distributes IIHS ratings to a large consumer audience and competes in the broader auto-evaluation space.
Direct peers
- European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP): European vehicle safety assessment program that conducts crashworthiness, safety assist, and vulnerable road user evaluations and publishes 1- to 5-star ratings. Euro NCAP is the most direct international peer of IIHS, with overlapping test methodology, similar consumer-facing rating output, and shared influence on global OEM safety engineering.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
IIHS social profiles
Digital presenceIIHS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
IIHS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
IIHS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
IIHS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about IIHS
What does IIHS do?
IIHS is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that conducts rigorous crashworthiness and crash avoidance testing of passenger and commercial vehicles, publishing the results as Good/Acceptable/Marginal/Poor ratings and awarding Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ designations. Through its affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), it also publishes insurance loss data analytics for member auto insurers. The organization offers free ratings to consumers and free STEM educational resources (Crash Science in the Classroom) for grades 5-12.
Is IIHS a public or private company?
IIHS is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was IIHS founded?
IIHS was founded in 1959. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is IIHS based?
IIHS is headquartered in Ruckersville, United States, in the North America region.
Who are IIHS's main competitors?
Regional players on record are China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP), Latin NCAP, Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), Korea New Car Assessment Program (KNCAP) and Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP). Broad incumbents are National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Global NCAP. UL Solutions (Underwriters Laboratories) is listed as an others. Consumer Reports (Auto Test Program) is listed as an emerging player. European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is listed as a direct peer.
Does IIHS have an API?
No public API is recorded for IIHS.
What industry is IIHS in?
IIHS's product category is Vehicle Safety Testing and Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIACAI, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) & Inspection Services. Its NAICS code is 541380 and its SIC code is 8734.