How Does An Accident Affect My Car Insurance?

Want to know what happens to your insurance premiums when you get into a car accident? This guide will explain what happens to your auto insurance rates when you are involved in a not at-fault accident and when you are involved in an at-fault accident.

Are You Not At-Fault or At-Fault?
The first thing you need to know is whose fault is it? This is usually communicated to you by your claims adjuster. Now it is not up the the claims adjusters to decide who is at fault but rather the police. The police will do an investigation into the particular accident and file a report deciding who is at-fault, the claims adjusters will then use this information to decide how coverages will be paid out.

Not At-Fault Accident
A big misconception that people think is that when you get into an accident and it is not your fault your rates will increase. Some people are even afraid to notify their insurance company they have been an accident for fear that they will jack up their rates. This is absolutely false. No insurance company will increase your premiums for the reason that you are deemed “not at-fault” for the accident. Please re-read that sentence again before we continue.

Now does this means that when you go to renew your auto insurance for the next year that it will cost the same as last year? No. There are many other reasons an insurance company can raise your rates, for instance, to cover their increased costs due to a recent hurricane. But insurance companies are not allowed, under any circumstance, to raise your rates as a result of a not at-fault accident.

However, if you get into multiple “not at-fault accidents”, usually more than three, they can ask you to increase your certain deductibles. But again, they will not raise your rates. So if you are involved in a not at-fault accident and your vehicle is severely damaged, please make your insurance company cover the costs of repair as that is what you are paying them to do.

On the next page read about how an at-fault accident affects your car insurance.

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