{"id":5310,"date":"2019-02-13T11:36:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T17:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/?p=5310"},"modified":"2019-03-19T09:41:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T15:41:40","slug":"how-much-will-my-car-insurance-go-up-after-an-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/how-much-will-my-car-insurance-go-up-after-an-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Will My Car Insurance Go Up After an Accident?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Most insurance companies in Maine surcharge insurance rates\nafter you\u2019ve had an at-fault accident. That\u2019s because people who\u2019ve had one accident\nare statistically more likely to have another. So should you pay for auto damage\nafter a small crash yourself, instead of making an insurance claim? Here are\nsome things to consider before you decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Is My Auto Accident\nConsidered \u201cAt-fault\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Maine, unless another party is 100% at fault you may share\nsome fault in the crash. Some examples of 100% at fault could be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>running a red light or stop sign;<\/li><li>hitting you while your car was legally parked<\/li><li>changing into your lane and sideswiping you.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt fault\u201d doesn\u2019t have to mean 100% at fault. Even if the\nother party is mostly at fault for the crash, you are still partially responsible.\nIf your insurance company pays to fix your vehicle, and isn\u2019t reimbursed by another\ninsurer, they may charge you for an \u201cat fault accident\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Is My Accident Damage\nBelow the Insurance Company\u2019s Threshold?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some insurers don\u2019t charge for minor at-fault accidents with\nno injuries. Common thresholds are $1,000 and $1,500 of total damage to all\nvehicles. If your damage is below that amount, they\u2019ll simply pay your claim\nand not surcharge your future rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do I Have Accident\nForgiveness?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several insurers allow you to avoid a surcharge for your\nfirst accident. Most charge extra for that option. Every\ninsurer uses different rules and calls this coverage something different. It\u2019s\ncommonly known as \u201caccident forgiveness\u201d. Some insurers only forgive the\naccident if you have no violations in the last several years. Interested in\naccident forgiveness? Ask your agent to compare their offerings. There are no\nstandard terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Much Will My\nInsurance Increase After an Accident?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nyour accident is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cat fault\u201d<\/li><li>above the company\u2019s threshold<\/li><li>and not subject to accident forgiveness<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;your rates will increase at your next auto\npolicy renewal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How\nmuch? That depends on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How much you\u2019re already paying. Surcharges are\nusually a percentage of premium. So, they more you\u2019re paying, the higher your\nsurcharge would be.<\/li><li>How many other accidents you\u2019ve had. Most\ninsurers charge a higher percentage for each accident within the 5 year\nexperience period. If this is your second, it will cost more than the first did.\n<\/li><li>How long the insurance company surcharges for\naccidents. Many surcharge for 3 or 5 years. Some charge more the first year and\ndecrease the surcharge each year until it\u2019s gone. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based upon what we see, following an accident, your insurance\nrates can increase anywhere from 7% to 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Decreased\nTransparency in Insurance Rates <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Insurance companies used to provide rate manuals to their\nagents. The manuals showed accident surcharge factors and told us how they were\napplied. Most insurers no longer provide this information. To agents, or even\nto their underwriters. Rating has also become much more complex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Insurance companies now calculate custom rates for each\nperson, instead of grouping similar people. Your agent can no longer predict\nthe exact effect an accident will have on your future insurance costs. Even the\ninsurance company underwriters are in the dark. They can\u2019t answer questions any\nbetter than agents can. It\u2019s far from ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We\u2019re Here to Help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Noyes Hall &amp; Allen, we recommend that our clients buy\naccident forgiveness if they want maximum stability. This helps keep insurance\ncosts predictable. Most good drivers appreciate that. For answers to your Maine\nauto insurance questions, contact a Noyes Hall &amp; Allen Insurance agent in\nSouth Portland at 207-799-5541. We offer a choice of several insurance\ncompanies, so we can help you find the best fit. We\u2019re independent and\ncommitted to you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most insurance companies in Maine surcharge insurance rates after you\u2019ve had an at-fault accident. That\u2019s because people who\u2019ve had one accident are statistically more likely to have another. So should you pay for auto damage after a small crash yourself, instead of making an insurance claim? Here are some things to consider before you decide. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,14],"tags":[67,41,6,7,36],"class_list":["post-5310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-insurance","category-car-insurance","category-personal-insurance","tag-auto-insurance","tag-claims","tag-liability","tag-living-in-maine","tag-saving-money"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5310"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5312,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5310\/revisions\/5312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}