You swerved for saving a tiny puppy and ended up wrecking your beloved car. Now, you must be stressing on the fact that your auto insurance may get double, right?
Well, that’s not necessary. With a suitable insurance provider or some smart maneuvering, you still have chances of saving money on your motor insurance after meeting an accident.
If you have met with an accident recently, which can be a possibility since you are reading this, let’s hope nobody got seriously injured.
Brace yourself, There’s more bad news coming your way. There is a possibility that you might have not got any physical injuries at the accident scene, however, your pocket might suffer from some pain at the time of the next car insurance renewal.
This happens because the car insurance providers usually increase the premiums for those drivers who have been involved in an accident recently. However, there is also a possibility that your premium will not change. But when does this happen?
Following are a few situations where there will be no increase in your premium at all.
1. The accident you were involved in was not your mistake.
2. It was the first accident you were involved in.
3. Your driving history does not have any insurance claims and/or moving violations.
However, If the accident was your fault, or your insurance provider thinks that you have been involved in a lot of accidents (no matter if you were not responsible for them or not), your insurance will most probably increase.
The exact amount of premium that is to be paid varies from one insurer to another. It also depends upon the severity of your accident.
Do you know what really a car insurance premium is?
The premium is the amount you will have to pay periodically to your insurance provider for coverage. Visit this to know more about car insurance.
We understand you must be panicking by now. But don’t worry, here are some tips on how to prevent your premium from rising after being involved in an accident.
Inform the insurance provider regarding the accident, regardless of its severity
If you were involved in an accident and thankfully you were not at fault, or even better, there weren’t any casualties. You might be planning on not informing your insurer about it. If they are not aware of the accident, they cannot raise the premium, right?
No, wrong! In case the other party involved in the accident files a case on you a few days later, your failure of reporting the accident at the time it took place may become the reason your provider refuses to honor your policy. You will then be lying under a pile of legal bills which can be way higher than the possible rise in your premium. Moreover, you will be living with a stress of the verdict going in favor of the plaintiff.
If your insurer still decides on honoring the policy, you have taken away the time wherein they might have investigated your accident and built a defense for you. Long story short, by not informing them about the accident, you have reduced their chances to win your case. If they will have to pay a claim, there are high chances they will increase your insurance premium.
Check whether your policy has a clause of accident forgiveness or not
Since a lot of insurance providers have accepted the fact that accidents are a common part of life, they have introduced provisions for ignoring the first mishap and consequently not raising your insurance premium. The details of such a clause may vary from company to company.
Look for a new insurance policy
If you are not satisfied with your rate of renewal, its time you shop for a new auto insurance policy. There are a lot of insurance providers available in the market. Go through their websites and select the provider and the policy that suits you the best.
Increasing the deductible on your car insurance
In case your insurance provider indeed increases your premium, you still have the option of lowering this amount by raising your deductible. Increasing the deductible can lead to the reduction of the cost of car insurance coverage.
But before doing so, make sure you can spend high amounts if you end up in another accident.
Do you know what is a deductible?
A deductible is an amount you will have to pay when your insurance comes in after you have filed a claim.
Taking advantage of various other discounts
Let us now discuss a few other ways for you to save on your premiums.
1. Drop the comprehensive and/or collision coverages in case you have an old car.
2. In case the average number of miles you drive per year is lesser than the number your insurer assumes, then you can enjoy some discount.
3. If you have been a customer with the insurance provider for a long time, they may reduce your rate.
Joining a driving school
No offense, but let’s do the obvious now. In case, you doubt your driving skills even a bit, then it is time to remove the dust from your old notebooks and join a new driving course.
Your insurance provider may consider this as a signal that you are trying to work on your driving skills. This might make them be easy on you at the time of renewal.
However, This might not help if you have been caught driving under influence or driving recklessly.
In a Nutshell
Your insurance premium may differ substantially from one provider to another. In case you own home insurance with another insurer, include that on the list of your potential auto insurers. You may get a discount on taking both home & car insurances with one provider.
Do not lie about any accidents or moving violations that you have received in the past few years. They will come across every accident reported or tickets raised in your name in the database.
