If there is no police report, nothing noted on your driving record
and you paid out of pocket for any damages you caused, it would be
unlikely that your insurer would know about a minor accident you were
in. That's also true if you were in an unreported single-car accident
that resulted in no claims.
If there are claims involved, your car insurance company will know
about the accident even if you don’t get a police report or personally
notify your insurer of the incident. When claims are paid out, auto
insurance providers place the claims information into a central
database.
When you apply for a new policy with a new insurer, it, too, will
obtain your claims history, and see any previous accidents and claims
you had.
How long does an accident stay on my record?
It varies by state. In some states, accidents don’t even go on your
driving record, or only appear if you were deemed at fault and ticketed
for a traffic infraction. In other states, accidents go on your record
and stay anywhere from one to five years. You’ll have to contact your
state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to find out if the accident will go on your record and how long it will stay there.
Does an accident affect my car insurance rates? If so, for how long?
An accident’s effect on your rates depends upon the circumstances of
the accident and how many claims you’ve had in recent years.
Comprehensive claims are less likely to be your fault, so they typically won’t raise your rates. Collision claims are more likely to hike up your rates.
If you’re at fault, it’s your first accident and damages are minor, it may eliminate your good driver discount, but not much else. If you weren’t at fault and the claims were through the other party’s insurance, it likely won’t affect you either. If, however, you’ve already made a few claims in a short period of time, any type of claim may affect your rates since you appear to the insurer to be accident-prone.
For example, some car insurance companies won’t impose a surcharge if the accident didn’t cause damage or injury in excess of $1,000, unless you have had two or more of this type of accident within the last three years.
State insurance laws also come into play. Some states allow insurers to surcharge drivers only for certain types of accidents or if damages were over a certain monetary amount. New York’s Department of Insurance has terrific information for its residents, and your state’s insurance regulator may as well.
An accident typically will affect your rates anywhere from three to five years; it depends upon state laws and the guidelines of your car insurance company.
Comprehensive claims are less likely to be your fault, so they typically won’t raise your rates. Collision claims are more likely to hike up your rates.
If you’re at fault, it’s your first accident and damages are minor, it may eliminate your good driver discount, but not much else. If you weren’t at fault and the claims were through the other party’s insurance, it likely won’t affect you either. If, however, you’ve already made a few claims in a short period of time, any type of claim may affect your rates since you appear to the insurer to be accident-prone.
For example, some car insurance companies won’t impose a surcharge if the accident didn’t cause damage or injury in excess of $1,000, unless you have had two or more of this type of accident within the last three years.
State insurance laws also come into play. Some states allow insurers to surcharge drivers only for certain types of accidents or if damages were over a certain monetary amount. New York’s Department of Insurance has terrific information for its residents, and your state’s insurance regulator may as well.
An accident typically will affect your rates anywhere from three to five years; it depends upon state laws and the guidelines of your car insurance company.
What type of accident is considered to be a collision?
An accident is typically claimed under collision coverage
when your car hits or is hit by another car or object, regardless of
fault. Upset of your car, such as flipping your vehicle or rolling down
an embankment, is also a collision claim.
Hitting another vehicle or an inanimate object like a tree, pole, house, fence, etc., all would be considered a collision accident claim.
Hitting another vehicle or an inanimate object like a tree, pole, house, fence, etc., all would be considered a collision accident claim.
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