 An accident affects car insurance in different ways depending on certain
details of the accident, as well as each insurer's underwriting guidelines. Not
always will there be a negative impact on the policy premium; however, rates may
be increased or a policy may be non-renewed if an accident is classified as chargeable:
Accidents are classified based on a few factors:- Was the accident at-fault? - If a policyholder is not considered
to be at fault, most likely the rates will not be increased. In the other
hand, being at fault in an accident will impact rates depending on the
company's underwriting guidelines. It may cause a policyholder to lose their
good driver discount which ranges in the area of 20%. If there was
only one vehicle involved, usually the accident will be considered to
be chargeable unless it was caused by some kind of debris on the road or by
a collision with nature's objects such as a falling tree, an animal etc. To
determine fault, a police report will usually indicate the at-fault party.
Without a police report, insurance companies may investigate through witness
reports and driver statements. Usually, if both drivers are found liable or
50% at fault, both drivers would be considered at-fault.
- Were there any injuries involved? - Whether or not there were
injuries involved will also have different impacts on rates. If one was at
fault but there were no injuries, it would have less of an impact than if
there were. A "letter of experience" from a carrier will indicate whether
there were any bodily injury payouts. Sometimes the police report may be
acceptable proof of no-injury; however, not all companies will accept it
since persons may not feel injured until a couple days later.
- Was the accident as a result of a collision with an emergency
vehicle, such as an ambulance or police car? If there was a collision
with an emergency vehicle, sometimes it will be considered non-fault because
those type of vehicles sometimes disobey traffic regulations in order to
rush to an emergency situation. In that case it shouldn't have an impact on
rates.
- Were any drivers under the influence? If a driver involved in an
accident was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it will be considered
a "major violation" and may cause a bigger impact on premiums since it will
be in conjunction with a DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving
while intoxicated).
- Was the amount of damage under $750 in damage? An accident may be
dismissed or non-chargeable if the property damages were under a certain
amount, usually $750 in damage; however, the amount may vary within
carriers. Usually when there is insignificant damage to the vehicles (fender benders),
no injuries are involved and rates are not impacted.
- How long ago was the accident? If an accident occurred more than
three years ago, usually it will be not be considered chargeable since
guidelines usually dismiss them after a certain time. Check with the insurer
to see how long until they dismiss them.
- Was there a citation issued? Usually the driver who receives a
citation when involved in a accident will be considered to be at fault for
breaking traffic laws. This, however, does not apply for violations such as
"unregistered vehicle" or other non-moving violations.
- How many accidents within the past 3 years? The number of
accidents one is involved in also determines impact. Multiple accidents
within a certain period may cause non-renewal and significant rate increases.
Drivers who have been involved in accident shouldn't overworry about how it will affect their rates. If
premiums happen to increase, one may simply
buy auto insurance
from another carrier who will offer lower rates.
The best way to
find affordable rates, even with tickets or accidents, is to
compare auto insurance
from multiple companies in order to narrow down the company who will insure for
less.
Visit OnlineAutoInsurance to get free
auto insurance quotes online
from multiple companies with one simple process and with no obligations to purchase.
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