Enlyte's 2026 annual trends report, drawing on estimating data from Mitchell (an Enlyte company), documents the cost and complexity trends in collision claims through 2025, including calibration growth, parts inflation, and repair-versus-replace rates.
Calibrations keep climbing
The share of repair estimates that include an ADAS calibration line grew 31.4% year-over-year in 2025, according to the report, with an average cost of $688 per estimate when a calibration was present. The number of calibrations per repair rose nearly 10% over 2024.
Calibration penetration has more than doubled in three years, reaching 34.7% of estimates in 2025, up from 12.1% in 2022. CCC Intelligent Solutions' Crash Course 2026 data tracked the same upward trend last year, with calibrations appearing on a growing share of repairable appraisals. The Enlyte report notes that ADAS components are sensitive to alignment, mounting, and even minor body-dimension changes, and that missed or incomplete calibrations create financial and liability exposure for both insurers and repairers.
Parts inflation, split by material
Parts prices rose across the board in 2025, but unevenly. OEM parts inflated 4.21%, up from 3.52% in 2024, while aftermarket parts rose 3.89%, up from 3.08%, the report states.
Plastic components such as bumper covers and headlamps saw steeper increases than sheet metal parts like hoods and doors, a pattern the report attributes to greater reliance on globally sourced materials in plastic-parts manufacturing. Plastics are projected to grow as a share of vehicle composition through 2030, and the report states that parts pricing is likely to continue rising for the foreseeable future.
Tariffs are part of that math. While the U.S. Supreme Court nullified tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the report notes that Section 232 auto tariffs on whole vehicles, parts, and key raw materials remain in place, leaving manufacturers looking to recover those costs.
Repaired parts tick up for the first time in a decade
After more than 10 years of decline, the percentage of parts repaired rather than replaced rose to 15.5% in 2025 from 14.8% in 2024, per the report.
The report cites Mitchell data showing that keys-to-keys cycle time on drivable repairs under $5,000 in total severity was about eight-tenths of a day faster when an estimate included at least one repair line, since the work stays in-house instead of waiting on external parts fulfillment.
Insurer results and claim reporting
The report describes 2025 as exceptional for auto carriers. Leading auto insurers posted combined ratios in the mid-80s and returns on equity above 30% in 2025, and the report notes that rate decreases are becoming more common in 2026.
The report states that during the recent affordability crunch, many policyholders raised deductibles, dropped comprehensive and collision coverage, or declined to report physical-damage claims, which it describes as a "forget the dent and pay the rent" mentality that left some damage unreported. It expects some of that deferred work to return if consumer finances improve, as drivers add coverage back and file previously unreported claims.
The report's figures arrive amid broader affordability pressure on consumers. New-vehicle prices near $50,000 have kept buyers out of showrooms, the same cost pressure the report ties to policyholders raising deductibles and dropping coverage, while collision shops face persistent pressure on margins and labor.
