Will Insurance Rates Go Up After A Personal Injury Claim?
You can drive as carefully as possible and still be involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, nobody can predict when they are going to be a victim in a collision. And when you are at fault, the experience is even more stressful. Fortunately, car insurance will help you to pay for your medical costs, those of the victim, and cover property damage.
In very serious situations, you will need help from professionals to deal with the outcome of the accident, as when you need truck accident lawyers. In others, you will be able to deal with everything alone. However, regardless of the situation, especially when you are at fault for the accident, insurance rates will go up. Understanding why this happens will help you make the best possible choices.
How Much Does Insurance Go Up?
Predicting how much car insurance premiums go up after the car accident is very difficult. However, most are connected with your driving record. If you are at fault for the collision or there is a moving violation that appeared in the past few months, insurers see it as a red flag. The amount chosen by the insurers to increase your rates varies from one state to the next, the insurer, your age, and your driving history. Usually, the younger drivers will pay more after car accidents since they are seen as risky customers.
If we are to look at statistics, we can say that full coverage insurance rates are going to go up by around $630 after a collision in which you were at fault. But, based on individual circumstances, you might be faced with more.
The damage that you do will influence how much premiums go up. Also, the hike is even steeper if your history includes several accidents. But, this is true when talking about full coverage, not comprehensive coverage, which appears when the car is damaged but there is no collision present. Comprehensive claims, as an example, are filed when the car is vandalized or stolen. Such events can lead to slight premium increases. However, filing with the insurer is still usually a good idea in such scenarios.
Why Do Rates Go Up?
The rates are not raised to punish the insured, as some might think. Rates are adjusted because the data available on you changed. You are basically perceived as being a driver with a higher risk rating and there is a higher possibility you will file a claim. Since you are becoming riskier for the insurer to have as a client, the premiums get higher. However, this is not a permanent increase. After some years, the rates do get back to normal.
Whenever you notice your insurance policy rates are going up after the car accident, the best thing to do is to look at quotes from different carriers. You can shop around since every single insurer has different factors taken into account as they determine how much insurance premiums go up. Since different rates are charged by different companies, there is always a very good possibility you can find something more affordable for you.
Personal Injury Claim Conclusions
Now that you know how and why rates can go up because of a personal injury claim, you can manage anything coming your way after an accident. Whether you need disability insurance for the future, or you can simply better manage future incidents, you now understand rates and why they go up after a personal injury claim.