We all worry about whether or not our insurance premium will go up if we get into an accident and have to file a claim. When you file a claim with your insurance company and they issue you a check to fix your car, the amount of the check may or may not influence your insurance premium.
Each auto insurance company has their own set of rules for when a claim may result in an increase in a customer’s premium. The amount that the insurance company has to pay on a claim factors into the rate that you will have to pay when you renew your policy. Some insurance companies have a first accident forgiveness policy, where your rates won’t go up if you have a minor accident.
Fault sometimes enters into the equation. If you are found to be the cause of an accident, it is more likely that your premium will go up than if the other driver was at fault. There is no direct link to how much your insurance premium will go up based upon the amount of the payment you receive from the insurance company to fix your car.
Whether you are at-fault, or just the unfortunate victim of another driver’s negligence, only matters if the accident winds up costing the insurance company more money to settle a claim. Both the size and the number of claims you file have an impact on how much you will have to pay for auto insurance. One small fender bender, when you have been insured with the same company for five years, will probably not affect your premium. Two major accidents in two years will be more likely to result in a higher premium.
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