Ideally, you won’t be involved in a car accident in the future, but alas, we have a lot of inexperienced and negligent drivers on our roads, especially since so many people are now texting and driving. With car accidents being so prevalent in our society, all states have laws requiring that all drivers purchase automobile insurance and South Carolina is no exception. If you do end up in an accident, you’ll have auto insurance to take care of it.
If you are in an accident, your insurance company will handle the claims process. But since one of the factors that affect insurance rates is car accidents, does that mean your insurance will automatically increase because you were in an accident? If your insurance rate does increase, it shouldn’t happen until your policy is up for renewal, but the good news is that it’s not guaranteed that your rate will increase because of your recent claim.
Your Rate May Not Go Up
Insurance rates do not automatically increase in all car accident cases. If someone has a minor accident, their rate may not go up at all, especially if they don’t have a history of accidents or if they have a long history of safe driving.
“What if I’m at-fault for the accident?” If you are at-fault for an accident, your rate still may not go up at all, especially if your policy has accident forgiveness, which looks at your driving record and your driving history as a whole, not just the recent accident.
Your Rate May Increase
If you cause a major accident and the insurance company finds you to be at-fault, there is a much higher chance that your insurance rate will increase. One of the key factors in a person’s rate is their driving record, so if you have a major accident on your record, it will probably impact your rate once your policy is up for renewal. Also, if you’ve been enjoying a safe driving discount on your policy, your rate will increase when you lose this discount. If your insurance company raises your premium because of a major crash, the accident could impact your premiums for a good three years, unfortunately.
Next: What if My Car is Totaled and I Owe Money on My Loan?
To file a car accident claim, we invite you to contact our firm to schedule a consultation.