Had a minor car accident, insurance rate goes right up?

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

I still don't know how the other party wants to settle this at this time. But assuming we go the insurance route, this would be my first incident in the last 8 years. Will my insurance company increase the rate? I heard some company forgives the first accident in certain period of time, is it the normal practice among all insurance company?

 

[Phynaz]

1. Most likely your state law says the accident must be reported to your insurance co. regardless of there being a financial claim.
2. Most likely your rate will increase, but it really depends upon your policy.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

If you have a good agent, they can let you know how much your rate will increase and for what period. You can compare that rate increase to the cost of paying out-of-pocket to repari the damage yourself. Most of the time, the rate increase will be cheaper since car repairs can be unGodly expensive even for minor things. I scraped a van in a parking lot and ended up going with a rate increase since the repair shop was quoting several thousand dollars to fix the paint and replace the door of the van. Probably best to talk to your agent and see what their policy is.

 

[sactoking]

It might also depend on your current discounts. For example, if you are with State Farm and have their Good Driver/Accident Free discount when you get into your first accident you don't get a rate increase because you lose the discount, which acts as a rate increase. A true rate increase won't come until accident 2.

 

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

I don't really have an agent. I bought my insurance online. Are they informative enough to give me the % of rate increase and the duration?

 

[ViperXX]

My wife got into a minor accident a couple months ago. If they would have raised my rates I would have been pretty fing pissed. They've gotten free money from me every month for 18 years.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I don't really have an agent. I bought my insurance online. Are they informative enough to give me the % of rate increase and the duration?

Yes. That's their job. What insurance provider did you end up with? Is it a major company or a podunk hole-in-the-wall?

 

[PsiStar]

In some states reporting the accident is contingent on being able to drive the car away. If it can be then the police probably do not need to be notified ... dependent on state law. I have never heard of a law requiring reporting to the insurance company. Doesn't mean it is not out there someplace tho.

Personally, for a minor accident I would pay out of pocket and not report to the ins. company. In some states and some insurance companies a 2nd incident of any size is cause for cancellation. Rate increase ... you wish. You think your pissing away money now? The next policy will be high risk for at least a year & will likely make the pay out of pocket no big deal.

Auto ins. companies have serious state lobbyists.

 

[Ns1]

I have had 2 accidents not my fault and my insurance did not go up either time.

 

[lupi]

So, you're saying you have a question?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, your rates will only go up if it's an at-fault, typically.

And they usually won't go up until your next renewal, so you have a bit of a grace period.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If it's not too late to get away from it, do not go through insurance. You will end up paying for the damage 10+ times over. But if you already reported it to police then you probably don't have a choice. I always found it BS that you have to go through insurance. It should be your choice. Insurance is basically like a shark loan. If you don't have the money now to pay for the damage you can get them to pay for it, but you'll end up paying it 10 fold after for a big chunk of your life.

Best bet is try to settle with the other person, if it's your fault then pay that person's damage + yours and move on. Though the danger with that is this person being an asshole and reporting it to the cops as a hit and run. It's really a gamble.

 

[BoomerD]

1. Most likely your state law says the accident must be reported to your insurance co. regardless of there being a financial claim.
2. Most likely your rate will increase, but it really depends upon your policy.

State law usually requires you to report the accident to DMV, depending on the dollar amount of damage, but not to your insurance company. (of course, your insurance company will get the info from the DMV as a matter of course)

As to increasing rates...too many variables, but if the accident was YOUR fault...then MOST LIKELY your rate will increase. If the accident was the OTHER DRIVER'S fault...you shouldn't get any increase.

 

[theevilsharpie]

If it's not too late to get away from it, do not go through insurance. You will end up paying for the damage 10+ times over. But if you already reported it to police then you probably don't have a choice. I always found it BS that you have to go through insurance. It should be your choice. Insurance is basically like a shark loan. If you don't have the money now to pay for the damage you can get them to pay for it, but you'll end up paying it 10 fold after for a big chunk of your life.

Even a minor fender-bender can cause damages in the thousands of dollars, and that's not including a rental reimbursement, medical expenses, compensation for increased depreciation, or your time and expenses in dealing with the matter.

If your insurance rates increase so much that it's cheaper to settle directly with the other party (much less 10 fold), you have really shitty insurance.

 

[ElFenix]

i had a minor at fault (dude's bumper cover needed sanded and repainted because the bolts on the licence plate holder scratched it) a couple years ago and my rates didn't go up.

 

[PsiStar]

This depends if the insurance is no-fault. Do you have no-fault???

 

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

Well, the other party just came back with an estimate from a body shop. $750 for a bumper replacement. I don't think the damage is serious enough to warrant a replacement...but.

I don't know...she went and stopped at a circle. I saw her took off...didn't realize she stopped while I was paying attention to oncoming traffic. ATOT expert/guru, do I have a case here?

 

[abaez]

Are you saying you rear ended her? You are at fault, period. Unless you got hit by one of those Russian scams where they back into you and play dumb.