Getting Auto Insurance Rates
There is no doubt that auto insurance rates will definitely go up immediately after an accident happens. How much it will increase exactly, would be difficult to answer. When it comes to determining auto insurance rates, there are many elements to be considered, like who is at fault in the accident or how many times you have been involved in one. Moreover, car insurance rates could also go up without an accident if, for instance, you lose a discount that you were previously entitled to. Accidents that would cause an insurance firm to shell money for claims would merit a higher increase. However, a DUI conviction along with such accidents could have extreme repercussions.
Some car insurance companies would be willing to "forgive" you if you encounter an accident for the first time, and you have been accident-free for years prior to that. The number of years varies from one company to another. Some would consider 5 years while others would consider 10 years. However, even though the company "overlooked" your accident, you will be tagged as an unsafe driver, regardless if whether it was your fault or not. What is worse is that your auto insurance rates would surely increase as well.
Just because some companies offer accident forgiveness or safe driver discounts, does not mean that each insurance firm does. It is important that you are familiar with your policy down to the last detail. Make sure to study it carefully or better yet, give your agent a call and ask him. For one, you could find out that there was nothing to fret about in the first place. Alternatively, you could find out that the policy that you have is not suited for you. To avoid problems like this later on, a good advice would be to know what kind of policy you have before you even get into an accident. It would be helpful to get in touch with your agent, and if it turns out that your coverage is the wrong one, it might be time to look for another provider.
If you know what kind of insurance you have ahead of time, it will help avoid unnecessary problems like a possible increase in auto insurance rates later on.
However, if this is not the first time you have encountered an accident, you can be sure that your car insurance rates will increase. Of course, the amount would vary and will be dependent on your driver history, the seriousness of the accident - which is measured by the cost of the insurance company - as well as the rules of the insurance provider itself. Sometimes the increase can as high as 10%; however, this figure could even become higher if a driver loses the discounts he was eligible for when he was still accident free. If you encounter a serious accident and charged with a DUI at the same time, your rates could skyrocket overnight. If you get tagged with a DUI, it would be even possible that you will get dropped by your own insurance company. It is still possible to get coverage from another firm, but chances are you would still get really high rates or double the amount that you were paying for before getting into the accident.
