How Much Does Car Insurance Go Up After an Accident? - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

n you n

hich st

tes h

ve the highest

uto insu

nce?

cco

ding to <

ef=”https://

.insu

e.com/c

-insu

nce/c

-insu

nce-

tes.html” t

get=”_bl

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efee

“>Insu

e.com<>, the top five st

tes, in o

e Michig

n, Louisi

, Flo

, Tex

nd C

lifo

Insu

nce

tes

nd d

ive

fety go h

nd-in-h

nd, so it’s no su

ise th

t these five st

tes

lso h

ve some of the

st numbe

hen it comes to

ccidents, pedest

n de

ths,

nd f

l c cshes. Ove

the ye

s, insu

nce comp

nies h

ve m

de it cle to consume

s th

t thei

tes

ill go up if they file cl

ims. So n

tully, m

ny d

ive

e hesit

nt to m

n insunce cl

ften

ccident. But is this

lly t

ue? Just ho

much

ill you

tes go up

ften

ccident?

Simple B
e
kdo
n of You
Insunce Policy<
h2>
Ho
much do you
e
lly knobout you
insu

nce policy, besides ho
much you p
y eve
y month? Do you knoh
t you
policy cove
s? You
deductible?
h
t
bout
hich events
ill
ctu
lly c
use you
insu

nce to go up? Let’s b
e
k it do
n:

Comp
ehensive Insu

nce

il d

ge? C b

k-in? Pot-hole d

ge? This

ll f

lls unde

you

ef="https:

.iii.o

ticle/

t-is-cove

ed-by-collision-

nd-comp

ehensive-

uto-insu

nce” t

get=”_bl

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el=”noopene

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efee

“>comp

ehensive insunce<>. Comp

ehensive policies cove

ny loss th

t is not

ted to

collision (including theft).

If you file

im th

ough you

comp

ehensive insunce, you

insu

nce comp

ny m

y o

y not

ise you

tes. Since these types of cl

ims don’t involve

nothe

ty, it’s usu

lly mo

ffo

ble to p

y fo

the

s out-of-pocket th

n to t

ke the hit on you

insunce.

Bodily Inju
y Li
bility<
h3>
Bodily inju
y p
otection (BI) cove
s the othe
d
ivend thei
p
ssenge
s if you’
e found <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.comt-f
ult-fo
-
-c

–
ccident
“>
t f
ult in
n
ccident >.
ll st
tes h
ve some so
t of l
eg

ding ho
much insunce d
ive
s need to c
y. This is the insu

nce you need to
oy
bout
hen it comes to you
tes. If you
insunce comp
ny h
s to p
y out
bodily inju
y cl
im, it
ill
lmost su
ely

ise you
tes. These cl
ims only h
ppen if the othe
d
ive
files
cl
im
g
inst you
insunce
nd p
oves th
t you

e
t f
ult.

The good thing to kno
is th
t you
insunce comp
ny doesn’t

nt to p
y out just
s much
s you don’t nt to see you
tes go up. This me
ns th
t if you

e in
n
ccident
he
e the
e is
n issue of f
ult, you
insu

nce comp
ny m
y t
ke you
side to t
y to p
ove the othe
pty is li
ble.

P
ope
ty D
m
ge Li
bility<
h3>
Simil

to bodily inju
y li
bility, p
ope
ty d
m
ge li
bility only p
ys out if the othe
pty files
cl
im
g
inst you
insu

nce
nd you e found to be
t f
ult.
hile leg
lly you c
n cove
these costs out-of-pocket to
void
n insunce inc
e
se, this is not
l

ys the best ide
. The
e’s nothing th
t stops the othe
d
ive
f
om m
king
bodily inju
y cl
im o
p
ope
ty d
m
ge cl
im even
fte
they’ve c
shed you
pe
son
l check. In this c
se, you

e out the money you p
id foep
i
s
nd still h
ve to p
y
highe
p
emium.

UI
UM Cove

ge

Uninsu

ed o

unde

insu

ed moto

ist covege is option

l on most policies. This cove

ge comes into pl

y if you e hit by

n uninsu

ed moto

ist o

if the

t-f

ult pty’s insunce is not enough to cove

you

im. If you use this cove

ge, you

tes should not go up. Ho

eve

, if you m

im fo

hit-

nd-

un collision,

nd you do not h

ve UI/UM cove

ge, you

insunce comp

ny m

y chge you. To len mo

bout you

cove

ge options

nd m

ke info

med decisions, m

ke su

e you t

lk to

ccident l

befo

e you file

im.

ill My tes Go up
hen I File
Cl
im?

Still confused? Insu

nce is t

icky,

nd it’s designed th

t y fo

son. The less insunce comp

nies h

ve to p

y out, the mo

e money they m

ke. L

st ye,<

ef="https:

/ne

oom.st

tefm.com

2019-st

te-fm-fin

nci

esults/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

efee

“> St

te Fm<>, the count

y’s biggest p

ope

nd c

lty insunce comp

ny, m

de $5.9 billion in p

ofits! It’s s

fe to s

y they’

e not going to help you s

ve money on you

tes oeceive

yout on you

im. The most impo

nt thing to unde

nd is th

t you

tes should not go up if you e not

t f

ult. <

ef="https:

inju

yvictims.comh

t-to-do-

fte

–

-c-

ccident/”>

ften

ccident >, you

insu

nce comp

ny only chges you mo

e if it h

s to p

y mo

e. If you e not

t f

ult, you

insu

nce comp

ill go to the othe

pty’s insunce comp

ny to t

y to get them to p

y. This is

hy you need to hi

ccident l

ho c

n est

blish f

ult clely

nd quickly

ften

ccident.

Ho
Do I P
ove the Othe
Pty s
t F
ult?<
h2>
If the othe
pty hit you o
pulled out in f
ont of you, th
t <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
c

–
ccident-not-you
-f
ult
“>p

ty’s
t f
ult >. It should be th
t st

ightfo

d,
ight? Not so f
st.
ften
ccident, it’s unlikely th
t the fi
st thing to c
oss the othe
d
ive
’s mind

s: “Is the othe
d
ive
ok
y?” Inste
d, it’s often something mo
e
long the lines of: “The
e go my insu

nce

tes.”
cco
ding to<
h
ef=”https://
.insu
e.com/c

-insu

nce/
fte
–
ccident-te-inc
e
se.html#:~:text=On%20
ve

ge%2C%20you
%20tes%20
ill%20inc
e
se%20
bout%2026%25,d
iving%20
eco
d%20
nd%20
hich%20insu

nce%20comp
ny%20you%20h
ve.” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“> Insu
e.com<>,
fte
just one
t-f
ult
ccident you c
n expect you
tes to go up 26 to 32%.

Unfo
tun
tely, this is enough to c
use some d
ive
s to lie. So ho
do you p
ove you’
e not
t f
ult?

ong>Pictu
es ong>: Pictu
es c
n sho lot
fte

n
ccident. They m
y sho

he
e
n
ccident h
ppened, ho
it h
ppened,
nd the
mount of d
m
ge c
used by the eck.
fte
you check to m
ke su
e eve
yone is ok
y, pull out you
phone
nd stt t
king pictu
es. M
ke su
e to get pics of
ll vehicles,
ny p
ope
ty d
m
ge,
nd you
inju
ies. Don’t fo
get to t
ke
pictu
e of the othe
d
ive
’s license pl
te. Some people
ctu
lly lie
bout even being involved in
n
ccident, so insunce comp
nies

e on high
le
t.

ong>
itnesses ong>:
itnesses

e
g
e
t y to p
ove
h
t h
ppened in
n
ccident,
nd it’s even bette
if they
e
e not in the vehicle
t the time of the
ccident. Thi
d-p

ty
itnesses h
ve no vested inte
est in the outcome of the c
se. Th
t me
ns they’
e likely to give
eli
ble
nd unbi
sed testimony
eg

ding the
ccident. Even so,
itnesses

en’t pe
fect,
nd they m
y fo
get impo
t
nt det
ils
s time goes by. Th
t’s one of the m
in
e
sons it’s impo
t
nt to st

t
c
ccident c
se
s soon
s possible.<
li>

ong>Physic
l evidence ong>: s the othe
d
ive
on the job?

s the vehicle in need of
ep
i
s? Ho
s the othe
d
ive
’s d
iving
eco
d? This physic
l evidence m
y not be p
esent
t the scene, but
good
tto
ney c
n dig it up
hen f
ult comes into question. Othe
items th
t c
n help p
ove f
ult include the police
epo
t, the d
ive
’s medic
l histo
y,
nd cell phone
eco
ds.

ong>
ccident
econst
uction ong>: In some c
ses, it m
y be necessy to b
ing in
n
ccident
econst
uction expe
t to dete
mine ho
the
ccident likely h
ppened
nd
ho is
t f
ult. The expe
t might ev
lu
te the physic
l d
m
ge to the vehicles, you
inju
ies,
nd
ny skid mks o
p
ope
ty d
m
ge.

h
t to Do
ften
ccident

You

ctions

ften

ccident

e ext

emely impo

nt.

t you s

nd do c

n m

big diffe

ence fo

you

se,

nd possibly fo

you

insunce tes too. Things you should do

fte

ccident include:

ong>St
y
t the scene ong>: Do not le
ve the scene of
n
ccident. Fo
one, it’s illeg
l (unless you’
e c
itic
lly inju
ed). Fu
the
mo
e, once you le
ve the scene of the
ccident, it’s youo
d
g
inst the othe
d
ive
’s,
nd
ll evidence is s
ept
y. This is
hy
e st
ongly
ecommend st
ying
t the scene of
n
ccident
nd t
king plenty of photos until l enfo
cement office
s indic
te th
t you m
y le
ve.<
li>
ong>Exch
nge insu

nce info
m
tion ong>: Get the cont
ct info
m
tion of
ll othe
involved p

ties. This info
m
tion is p

ticul

ly impo
t
nt if you pl
n to file
thi
d-pty cl
im.
t this point, you
lso need to give the othe
d
ive
you
info
m
tion.
emembe
, this does not me
n th
t they
ill file
cl
im
g
inst you o
you
insunce, but in most st
tes, you h
ve to h
nd ove
you
insu

nce info
m
tion if the othe
d
ive

equests it.
ong>Go to the docto
ong>: If you pl
n to file
c
ccident c
se, you need to est
blish
medic
l
eco
d
s soon
s possible. Even if you

e not in p
in, it’s still
good ide
to get checked out. Some se
ious inju
ies involve symptoms th
t don’t p
esent fo
d
ys oeeks follo
ing
n
ccident, so it’s impo
t
nt to h
ve
docto
ev
lu
te you fony hidden inju
ies.
ong>Cont
ct
n expe
ienced <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
c

–
ccident-
tto
ney-houston
“>c
ccident
tto
ney<><
st
ong>:
c
ccident
tto
ney c
n help you pu
sue
f
i
settlement
fte
you

uto
ccident,
nd help you p
ove you
c
se.
hile c
ccident lye
s

e not the s
me
s c
imin
l defense l

ye
s, c
ccident l

ye
s c
n help you p
ove
ho’s
t f
ult in you

ccident
nd p
event
cl
im f
om unjustly
ffecting you
insunce tes.<
li>

h
t Not to Do
ften
ccident

The insu

nce comp

ill pounce if you m

mist

ke, so it’s impo

nt to be mindful

bout eve

y move you m

fte c

ccident. <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comhen-to-get-

-c

–

ccident-

tto

ney

“>

tto

ney<> c

n be

ble

lly th

oughout this p

ocess, but if you’

e on you

ight no

, he

e’s

list of things you should not do:

ong>Don’t t
lk to the insunce comp
ny ong>: The insunce comp
ny doesn’t

nt to p
y out you
cl
im. If they c
n shift the bl
me onto you o
diminish you
inju
ies, they
ill. Inste
d, cont
ct
n
tto
ney
nd h
ve them de
l
ith the insu

nce comp
ny on you
beh
lf.<
li>
ong>Don’t post on soci
l medi
<
st
ong>: If you think the insunce comp
ny
on’t bothe
to look into you
soci
l medi

ccounts, you’
e ong. Insunce comp
nies c
n get
lot of info
m
tion
bout you
life just by checking out F
cebook. Neve
t
lk
bout you

ccident on
public pl
tfo
m. Don’t post pictu
es of you
self eng
ging in physic
l
ctivities. Don’t
ccept f
iend
equests f
om people you don’t kno
. You should tu
n you
soci
l medi

ccounts to p
iv
te
hile you
c

insu

nce cl
im is open.<
li>
ong>Don’t mis
ep
esent you
inju
ies<
st
ong>: The
e
ill be m
ny times th
oughout you
c
se
hen someone
sks ho
you

e feeling o
the st
tus of you
inju
ies. You need to be honest. If something hu
ts, don’t hide it, but don’t ex
gge

te you
symptoms eithe
. This
uins you
c
edibility
nd could potenti
lly dest
oy you
c
se.
e kno
it seems
utom
tic to
espond “fine”
hen someone
sks “ho
e you?” But this could
ctu
lly be
sne
ky t
ctic used by insunce
djuste
s t
ying to inv
lid
te you
suffe
ing.

Ho
to S
ve Money on You
Insunce<
h2>
Insu

nce is expensive, but it’s
lso not
n

e
you should skimp on. Ho
c
n you m
ke su
e you’
e not ove
p
ying fo
you
insu

nce?
e
ecommend the follo
ing
pp
o
ch:

ong>Shop ound<
st
ong>: Diffe
ent insu

nce comp
nies m
y conside
diffe
ent f
cto
s.
hile one comp
ny m
y ding you fo
th
t speeding ticket l
st ye

,
nothe
m
y only conside
t

ffic
ccidents
hen it comes to inc
e
sing you
tes.<
li>

ong>
e-ev
lu
te you
insunce policy
nnu
lly<
st
ong>: H
ve you noticed th
t you
tes go up eve
y time you
ene
? If so, you might nt to t
lk to diffe
ent insunce comp
nies next time befo
e
ene
ing to see if you c
n get
bette
de
l
ith someone else.

ong>Look fo policy
ith
ccident fo
giveness ong>: Mist
kes h
ppen, but if you don’t h
ve
ccident fo
giveness, th
t one mist
ke m
y cost you fo
seve

l ye

s. M
ny comp
nies offe

ccident fo
giveness. Check
ith you
cuent comp
ny to ev
lu
te thei
offe
ings,
nd conside
s
itching if it doesn’t h
ve
h
t you’
e looking fo
.

ong>
eigh you
deductible costs<
st
ong>: Genelly, the lo
e
you
deductible, the highe
you
monthly p
emiums
ill be,
nd vice ve
s
. If you h
ve
n olde
c

, it m
y not m
ke sense to p
y highe
monthly p
yments. You
lso need to conside
if you c
n
ffo
d to p
y
highe
deductible if you do h
ve
n
ccident.

ong>
n
lyze you
cove

ge ong>: T
ke
close look
t
h
t you

e p
ying
nd
h
t you
policy p
ovides. Do you
e
lly need
ent
l cove

ge?
h
t
bout
o
dside
ssist
nce? If you h
ve
o simil se
vice, you don’t need to p
y fo
this se
vice th
ough you
insunce policy
s
ell. Little things
dd up, so you m
y be p
ying mo
e th
n you should.

P
otect You
self
fte C
ccident

fte c

ccident, the l

st thing you should h

ve to

bout is money.

t’s

hy it’s so impo

nt to h

ve someone by you

side th

t you c

n t

ust. Don’t let the insunce comp

ny t

ge of you. If you h

ve questions o

need help

fte c

ccident, <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

“>cont

ct<>

n expe

ienced c

ccident

tto

ney. They c

n guide you eve

y step of the

nd fight fo

the compens

tion you dese

ve!

Simple Be kdon of You Insunce Policy<h2> Ho much do you e lly knobout you insu nce policy, besides ho much you py eve y month? Do you knoht you policy coves? You deductible? h t bout hich events ill ctully c use you insu nce to go up? Let’s b ek it do n:

Compehensive Insu nce

UIUM Cove ge

ill My tes Go up hen I File Clim?

ht to Do ften ccident

ht Not to Do ften ccident

P otect Youself fte C ccident

Testimonials

Read More

Simple B
e
kdo
n of You
Insunce Policy<
h2>
Ho
much do you
e
lly knobout you
insu

nce policy, besides ho
much you p
y eve
y month? Do you knoh
t you
policy cove
s? You
deductible?
h
t
bout
hich events
ill
ctu
lly c
use you
insu

nce to go up? Let’s b
e
k it do
n:

Comp
ehensive Insu

nce

UI
UM Cove

ge

ill My tes Go up
hen I File
Cl
im?

h
t to Do
ften
ccident

h
t Not to Do
ften
ccident

P
otect You
self
fte C
ccident