I was in an at-fault accident 5 months ago that was $16K in damages total. No other accidents or traffic violations in 10 years of having a car – I'm 40 now.
Insurance renewals came through and State Farm raised my rate from $90 to $270. It was a cheap rate due to (previously) clean record, owning the car outright, stored in a garage, put maybe 2,000 miles a year on it & it's bundled with home + supplemental health insurance. It's only my second year with State Farm though.
$16K in damages is a lot of money, not trying to skate around that, but I was expecting a 50-75% increase. Triple seems wild given the above factors and the accident wasn't a DUI or deemed to be reckless driving.
I'm going to start shopping around, but is this a "we want you out" rate from State Farm or in the ballpark of what I can expect to pay the next 3-5 years? If I left State Farm, I'd cancel the other insurances with them as well and ideally bundle with a new place.
Insurance tripled after at-fault accident – Is this normal?
byu/Civil-Curve6339 inInsurance
Posted by Civil-Curve6339
19 Comments
This is definitely a we want you out, shop around please you’ll find better
State Farm has a low tolerance for higher risk drivers. Usually. That’s how they tend to operate. Don’t feel too bad, I can guarantee you’ll find a better rate.
can’t speak to your exact question about the motive of the increase. but I have been with state farm many times over the past 40 years. the last 20 I have moved to them and from them twice. they lowball to get you then a year or so later my rates go up significantly. ( not triple, but was 30 to 40% in one year ). so I ended up leaving.
the state I live in seems to be a market many companies like to limit exposure, so that might have been part of it. ( which is how I ended up back at state farm twice in 20 years. one of the insurance companies just left the market completely. ).
Some people would say $270 isn’t bad lol.
Over 3 years they will only recoup $6500 of that $16000 they paid out. It’s not punitive, it’s recovery. I doubt you’ll do better with another company.
270×12 is 3240×5 is $16200 so really you’re just gonna pay them back. Any other smaller rate increases between now and then are just the cost of doing business.
I don’t think the increase was a “We want you out” rate. If anything the $90 was a welcome to State Farm we will make it up next year rate.
Don’t cause accidents
Mine just went up 105% (over double) for a small at fault accident with a payout of 3.5k. I called my agent to switch and found somewhere with less of an increase but it was still a LOT more once I put in the license info
It will do it. Mine got doubled over a minor accident with a previously clean record. Progressive paid $5000 for what looked like basically a tiny smudge and I didn’t have any damage. Of course maybe that kind of thing is why rates are so high. God forbid there would actually be any significant damage you could see without getting up close on your knees
Yes, this is normal. Sorry. Your insurance score went up. Please get accident forgiveness next time if you can.
16k at $90 is close to 15 years. 16k at $270 is close to 5 years. Seems like a reasonable bet that a customer with one at fault accident will have another in the next 5 years – and more so when you consider they paid more than you ever paid them.
You gad a 16k wreck. They want you to pay for it or get gone. Now the surprise. You have to tell your next insurance company that you had a 16k wreck and the premiums are going to be just as high. No one really wants you now. And if you have a new wreck in the next 2-3 years they will drop you. State Farm sucks. But you still have insurance
I had State Farm for 13 years, I got in an accident where I wasn’t at fault but the at fault drivers insurance was jerking me around so I had State Farm fix my car then we went to arbitration. During Arbitration the 3rd party mediator determined the other drivers insurance was 100% at fault within like 15 mins, ordered them to pay State Farm back the $9000 in repairs my vehicle accrued and they paid out on. State Farm then a month later raised my rates from $115 a month to $320 a month, so not only did they get their $9000 back, they wanted to essentially recoup like $12k over the next 5 years off me.
I ended up going to a broker, they got me with Geico for $107 a month after that. So I’m confident State Farm does these increases to push people away.
Contact an insurance broker. They can farm your info out to 20 or 30 insurance providers and get you the best offer.
I had two crashes in quick succession, one a total, and only after that found out I have an eye problem. I’ve since seen a doctor and had it fixed. You don’t wanna know what my payment is right now. I’d give anything for $270 a month.
I don’t think changing is going to make a difference. The accident is on your record for 3yrs and all the companies see that.
You are lucky they didn’t flat out cancel you.
raising rates that high after a long time with a clean record should be illegal in a car centric country like the U.S
2000 miles per year? Or per month? If it’s per year I would assess just getting rid of the car altogether; 2000 miles per year is nothing.