Technological progress sometimes brings unexpected consequences. The advanced safety features designed to protect us—such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure warnings, and blind spot detection—have created a paradoxical effect on insurance costs. While these technologies have successfully reduced accident frequency by 25%, the sophisticated sensors they rely on have made repairs prohibitively expensive, driving up claim costs by 60% and neutralizing anticipated savings. When a simple fender bender can damage calibrated safety systems that require specialized equipment, which few shops possess, insurers increasingly opt to total vehicles rather than repair them.