Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Aftereffects of A Claim On Your Car Insurance



After you file a claim, your car insurance premium is normally expected to get higher. This is so because the car insurance company now considers you as a liability. They have to compensate for the loss whenever you get involved in an accident, therefore they raise the premium rate to ensure that it covers all the expenses and gets profit for them.

To what extent your car premiums will go up is really difficult to comprehend. One of major factors is the number of claims you have had already. If your driving record shows instances of past accidents then premiums will increase further. If the frequency of accidents is more then you are considered a driver with high risk, and you may have to pay highly for it.

Your insurance premiums are also influenced by how frequently you get involved in accidents. In case you get involved into car accidents twice in a year then your car premiums are expected to rise considerably. Regardless of which company you apply for, you premiums will be influenced in a similar manner by your driving history, though you may shop around and get a better premium deal.

The highest premiums are saved for young male drivers. Although it is a bit of a stereotype, insurance companies have done research to find the drivers that are most likely to get into an accident. Since their driving record is fairly new, young drivers are instantly more of a liability. If they get into a car accident the premiums will skyrocket until several years afterward with having a clean record.

At times, your premiums may not be very much affected. This happens only when the fault was not on your side or when you have had a really good driving record of many years. However there are some insurance companies which may still escalate your rate despite of this.

In order to know the process how the premiums are set you must have a slight knowledge about the ISO symbols. ISO is the abbreviated form of Insurance Services Offices, Inc. and they give a particular symbol or number to every car. This symbol tells how much the value of the car is. This makes the ratings by the insurance companies just and identical for all. If you own an expensive vehicle then your ISO rating must be really high. This means that it will take more money to fix the damages of your car. Such vehicles usually have a higher premium rate. After an accident, your premiums will also increase regardless of your ISO rating.

Your car insurance will of course not be cancelled after accident, but it may increase so much that you may have to terminate it. Even though you call off your insurance after an accident, you will receive the full coverage of your claim. Remember that the accurate time of accident is extremely essential. If the accident took place even after a minute of the expiry of your plan, your claim will become void and you?ll have to bear the costs yourself.

Knowing this you now realize how much a claim affects your premiums. You may therefore see it as unnecessary to file a claim for small accidents, seeing as you may end up paying double or more in higher premiums. In most cases it is better not to file a claim if the damage is under $750 dollars. You may also want to avoid putting in a claim if you have another accident on your record that same year.

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