Every year, between 5 and 6 million car accidents take place in the U.S. With this in mind, there is a good chance you’ll be involved in a car accident at some point if you spend enough time out on the road.
In the immediate aftermath of a car accident, you should check to make sure you’re okay. You should also check on others and take a look at your car to see how much damage was done to it.
From there, you’ll need to figure out how much insurance rates after a car accident will go up. You shouldn’t be too surprised to see at least a slight car insurance increase following a car crash.
So, how much will your car insurance rates spike after a car accident? It’ll depend on a few key factors. Learn about them below.
How Bad Your Car Accident Was
Were you involved in a minor fender-bender that resulted in no injuries and very little damage to your car and/or the cars driven by others? If so, you might not see much of an increase in your car insurance rates after a car accident.
But if, on the other hand, you were involved in a multi-car crash that resulted in a handful of injuries and a lot of damage to all the vehicles involved, it could be a different story.
This could send your car insurance price skyrocketing since your insurance company will likely have to spend at least some money once drivers start filing claims.
Who Was at Fault for Your Car Accident
Did you cause the car accident that you were in, or was someone else to blame for it? Following a car crash, you should always call the police so that they can create a police report and determine who was at fault for the accident.
If you were to blame, your insurance company will view this as an at-fault car accident, and they’ll often increase your insurance rates because of it. If you weren’t to blame, you might be able to get away with a small car insurance increase or even no increase at all.
Which Car Insurance Company You Use
The automobile insurance industry in the U.S. is worth more than $300 billion. This has led to an influx in the number of car insurance companies with hundreds of them operating throughout the country.
Each of these individual car insurance companies handles car accidents involving their customers differently. Some will be lenient after a customer’s first accident and won’t increase their rates at all. Others will increase a customer’s rates after every accident even if they weren’t to blame for it.
You’ll need to speak with a representative from your specific car insurance company to find out if you’ll see insurance rates after a car accident go up.
See If Your Car Insurance Rates After a Car Accident Increase
It isn’t always easy to determine if you’ll see an increase in your insurance rates after a car accident. It’s going to depend heavily on each of the factors listed here.
Make sure you touch base with your auto insurance company ASAP to let them know about an accident. They’ll be able to tell you whether or not you can expect to see your insurance rates go up.
Check out more informative auto insurance articles by browsing through the rest of our blog.
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