Do Auto Insurance Costs Go up Following an Accident?

As much as insurance companies always talk about saving you money by switching, it seems the little by little, each renewal brings a slightly higher rate. On the national level, they’ve increased two to seven percent annually over the past decade, which isn’t a lot but it can still amount to significant costs for individual drivers. With this in mind, you may be wondering how you can keep your premiums as low as possible. Plenty of measures can help reduce coverage rates if you know how to take advantage of them!

Understanding What Causes Insurance Rates to Go Up

Numerous factors contribute to rising insurance costs as coverage providers like abetterchoiceinsurance.com can tell you. Many of them are beyond your control and vary based on certain environmental factors. If more cars are on the road or more accidents, or more expensive cars, you can expect to see all rates rise. Or if like during COVID, people drive less, we’ve seen rebates or credits being extended. Others factors are well within your grasp, such as those directly impacted by your own actions, i.e. being a safe driver and not having accidents or tickets on your record.

Accepting the Things You Can’t Change

Those elements you can’t control include the state in which you live, how many accidents take place in that state, the number of insurance claims being filed, and the typical incidences of severe weather in the area. The costs of medical care, automotive parts, and labor have surged as well. This increases the expenses for coverage providers. In turn, those costs are passed along to policyholders. You can’t change any of those aspects with the possible exception of researching insurance rates across the country and moving to a state where coverage costs are low. Even then, they could suddenly go up after the fact.

Changing the Things You Can

That brings us to the factors you can control to at least some extent. Your rates are bound to go up after an accident whether you file a claim or you caused the accident and someone else files a claim as a result. Because of this, many experts advise drivers to avoid getting into accidents. Of course, that’s often easier said than done.

You can eliminate as many distractions as possible while driving, leave your phone well out of reach, remain within the speed limit, and constantly look hundreds of feet ahead for potential hazards. Still, considering the number of drivers on the road, avoiding danger isn’t always possible. All that being said, some additional steps can lead to lower coverage rates.

Don’t File Unnecessary Claims

Withholding information about accidents from your coverage provider isn’t advisable. If someone else involved in the accident files a claim, the insurance company could consider your silence an act of dishonesty and raise your rates or deny coverage altogether. Still, not all damages need to be filed on your insurance. This is particularly true if the cost of repairs is less than your deductible. In such a case, filing a claim could work against you. If a tree falls in the yard and shatters your windshield, the insurance company doesn’t necessarily need to hear about it. There’s definitely been times when we had a little ding or paint scratch that Mrs. Money and I ended up fixing on our own.

Take a Defensive Driving Course

Knowledge is power, and some types of knowledge could help reduce your insurance rates. In some cases, coverage providers offer discounts to policyholders who participate in approved defensive driving courses. The information provided in these classes can help improve your driving skills and better prepare you for the dangers of less-attentive drivers.

Look for Policies with Accident Forgiveness

Quite a few coverage providers are now offering accident forgiveness for policyholders’ first accidents. They’ve come to realize some accidents are simply unavoidable these days, so they make allowances for drivers with otherwise clean driving records. This, alone, could save you a great deal of money and help avoid rate increases if you cause an accident or need to file a claim. It’s actually wise to periodically shop around to make sure you’re not only getting the best services (like accident forgiveness) but also the best rate! Of course the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best but it never hurts to look around!

All Things Considered

Auto insurance is essential. You can’t legally drive without it. Meeting the monthly premiums can be a challenge, though. If you’re armed with the right types of knowledge and understand how to be proactive in reducing your rates, you can certainly fight the rising costs of coverage!

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