How Will Car Accident Affect Insurance Rates?

When you have a clean record and are not classed as a high risk driver you generally find that your can obtain car insurance a lot cheaper than other people. If you are involved in an accident you will want to know how will car accident affect insurance rates. This article will answer this question for you.

The main reason as to why your insurance may be affected is if you are seen to be at fault of the accident. In some states someone has to be found at fault and there is no way that you can both take responsibility or both deny it as it will be determined in a court of law who should be liable to pay.

In other states where both people can be to blame the amount that the insurance company will pay out on your behalf will depend on the percentage of the accident that will be deemed to be your fault. One example of this would be that if you were seen to be at joint fault with the other person then you would be 50% at fault, then half of the amount of costs would be paid by your company, it would then be reclaimed over time when you pay your insurance, this will mean that your insurance rates will rise.

The person who is deemed to be at fault could differ from state to state, depending on the laws that are in place. Although it may seem clear cut that one party is at fault this may not be the case when it reaches a court of law.

Even if an accident is not your fault you may still find that your rates increase. This will happen if the amount deductible does not cover the damage, therefore you will have to pay back any extra that the insurance company pays on your behalf. This will of course depend on the state laws.

As you can see it is not always a simple yes or no when you ask 'will car accident affect insurance rates' there are many other factors to be determined also.