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Car Insurance Rates After an Accident

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Ask An Insurance Question Last Updated: 04/04/2017

Q: Was hit at a traffic light by a woman making an illegal left turn in a no-fault state. Had the right-away- will the insurance rates increase?

A: Every claim you file on your insurance policy has the potential to raise your rates, regardless of fault. A not-at-fault accident will have considerably less impact than an at-fault but still, will have the potential to impact.

There are a lot of factors that come into play when an accident goes on your car insurance policy and how an insurance company ultimately will rate for them. They look at who is at fault for the accident, what kind of accident it was, and how much is paid out. How much an accident will affect your rate will also depend on your age, your credit/insurance score, and what type of vehicle your drive.

Insurance is not an easy market to predict increases in because of how many factors go into determining how much you should pay for your car insurance. For example, a 20-year-old driver and a 40 year-old-driver could be in the exact same type of accident and drive the exact same vehicle, however, the 20-year-old will see a much larger increase than the 40-year-old. The reason for the difference is because of a formula that the insurance companies use to determine who or what is a higher risk and will have the most likelihood of the insurance company having to pay out a claim for them. They then charge the higher risk higher car insurance rates.

Another factor as to if your car insurance rates will increase is if your company offers an accident forgiveness program.

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Michele Wilmonen

Michele's first introduction to insurance was working for a major insurance company as a file clerk and a mailroom supervisor in a regional office. She learned insurance directly from underwriters and claims adjusters from questions and also watching them do their job. Since then, she's earned a number of insurance certifications from the Insurance Institute of America and also a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho. She blogs at Car Insurance Guidebook.

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