Surcarge accidents?

by CrazedEpidemic » Mon Feb 02, 2009 04:06 am

Is it true that if i have an accident and I am at fault but damages are less than $1000 a surcharge wont be added to my policy which wont give me a rate increase?

Sorry for the double post. I forgot to log in.

Total Comments: 7

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 05:54 am Post Subject:

Crazed, I think its very difficult to say since premium hike depends upon the internal business strategies of the insurance company. Some insurer may take a lenient approach towards its customers and may not increase the premium for an accident, when others may increase it for any claim filed.

At times if you have maintained a no claim record with an insurance company for a time period, you may not experience a premium hike just after an accident.

Hope this helps.

~Jeremy

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 06:00 am Post Subject:

An at-fault accident would certainly affect your auto premium rate no matter how small is the claim. However, if you decide to pay for the other party's damages and avoid filing claim with the insurer, you may escape the rate change. But, as Jeremy has said, it may largely depend upon the company's internal policies.

Moreover, any claim would enter in your CLUE report which will be reviewed by the insurer next time you apply for a policy, and depending upon the report all your future premiums will be decided.

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 06:19 am Post Subject:

Really depends on the carrier and other factors, such as how long you've been with the company. Some of the "better" carriers won't increase rates for an at-fault accident if it's minor.

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:23 pm Post Subject:

An at-fault accident would certainly affect your auto premium rate no matter how small is the claim.

Sorry Betty but you're wrong there at least in my state..

OP all carriers have different 'thresholds' the company I work for now I think is 600.00 I've never seen one that was 1k doesn't mean they don't exsist...again you would need to talk with your carrier to find out the threshold on loss payments that have to be eclipsed before they are rated up....remember that means the entire claim your damage and the other partys.

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 06:39 pm Post Subject:

I contacted my insurance provider and they told me that it is $1000 in New York.

If I get into a small fender bender and damage the other persons car costing $900 and my damages are $500 and I don't want my damages repaired will I still receive a hike in premiums?

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:22 pm Post Subject:

I think it depends on the policy of the insurance company.

Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 02:08 am Post Subject:

Crazed,

As long as the auto insurance company does not pay $1,000 or more for the claim, you won't get surcharged.

But if you shop or switch insurance companies, other insurance companies will charge you higher rates, and surcharge you based on the dollar amount of damage or injury, not what your previous auto insurance company paid out.

However, when you have damaged someone else's car, you don't have too much control over the situation.

To use your same example, the $900 damage to the other car could turn out to be more, if other damage is discovered once repairs begin.It is not unusual for car repairs to be more than originally estimated. If the other car's repair cost becomes $1,000 or more, you might as well submit a claim for damage to your car.

Nothing hurts worse than to get $1,100 for a claim, only to pay back $1,500 over 3 years due to an accident surcharge.

If you have a small claim involving another driver, you can report the claim, and advise the claims rep you want the option of paying any cost at or over $1,000 to avoid a surcharge, and the claims rep may work with you.

Things can get complicated if someone turns out to be injured, and paying out of pocket yourself, before fault is determined, can compromise the claim.

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