{"id":3201,"date":"2015-03-02T15:48:03","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T23:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/?p=3201"},"modified":"2015-03-02T15:48:03","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T23:48:03","slug":"how-badly-can-making-an-auto-insurance-claim-affect-your-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/how-badly-can-making-an-auto-insurance-claim-affect-your-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"How Badly Can Making an Auto Insurance Claim Affect Your Rates?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the cost of auto body repair, a simple fender bender could easily run $2,000 or more, resulting in higher insurance rates. Practicing safe driving techniques can\u2019t always keep you from being involved in an accident. After all, that\u2019s why they\u2019re called accidents \u2013 they can happen virtually at any time \u2013 anywhere \u2013 and without warning. But, what most motorists don\u2019t realize is that a single claim of $2,000 or more will cause their car insurance<\/a> premium to skyrocket by an average of 41 percent, according to a recent study.<\/p>\n

Worst yet, the same study found that California residents can expect the stiffest of all the states\u2019 penalties for having the misfortune of getting in a wreck – and facing a massive, budget-busting increase of 86 percent annually. Meanwhile, Maryland tends to inflict the least amount of financial hardship nationally with a milder 22 percent boost on average.<\/p>\n

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners<\/a> (NAIC), the data gathered to determine the rate of increase is based on the actuarial premise that someone who files an insurance claim is regarded as more likely to get into another accident than a policyholder who\u2019s managed to remain claim-free. Dare to follow up the first accident with a second car insurance claim in a relatively short period of time and get ready to be blind-sided with a whopping premium upsurge at a national average of 93 percent.
\nFor the most part, motorists who purchased auto insurance in California underestimate the potential negative consequences of making one or more claims, especially, if they\u2019ve never had to file any in the past. So, when the time comes for them to file an accident claim, they can\u2019t believe their eyes when their new premium arrives in the mail. Furthermore, it can affect their auto insurance rate for many years.<\/p>\n

Bodily injury and property damage claims are the costliest in terms of premium increases with an average of 45 percent and 41 percent increase, respectively. On the other hand, simple comprehensive claims (non-collision related), usually trigger lesser bumps in annual premiums.<\/p>\n

Below are the five states where policyholders face the highest financial impact of filing a single car insurance claim, which is based on a $2,000 claim against an insured\u2019s bodily injury coverage:<\/p>\n

1. California \u2014 86 percent
\n2. Massachusetts \u2014 83 percent
\n3. New Jersey \u2014 69 percent
\n4. North Carolina \u2014 58 percent
\n5. Minnesota \u2014 52 percent<\/p>\n

The five states where drivers are subject to the lowest increases under the same circumstances are:<\/p>\n

1. Maryland \u2014 22 percent
\n2. Michigan \u2014 25 percent
\n3. Montana \u2014 27 percent
\n4. Oklahoma \u2014 27 percent
\n5. Mississippi \u2014 28 percent<\/p>\n

Depending on the severity of the underlying incident, which brought about the rate hike in the first place, experts say a policyholder can expect to feel the after-effects for a period of between three to five years. Of course, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the premium won\u2019t drop slightly before that, but the amount of time they remain higher than their previous level will be contingent on whether or not another insurance claim is filed in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Remember \u2013 accident claims, together with a number of traffic tickets can greatly affect your premium as well as making it a great deal more difficult to find cheap car insurance<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n

So, use care when you drive as a smart way to keep your premiums low. But, don\u2019t assume they\u2019re as low as they can be. Make sure you\u2019re getting the best rate on your car insurance. Why not get a free car insurance quote today?<\/p>\n

Have your auto insurance<\/a> rates gone through the roof following an auto accident? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the cost of auto body repair, a simple fender bender could easily run $2,000 or more, resulting in higher insurance rates. Practicing safe driving techniques can\u2019t always keep you from being involved in an accident. After all, that\u2019s why they\u2019re called accidents \u2013 they can happen virtually at any time \u2013 anywhere \u2013 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[697],"tags":[307,578],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}