So my 18 year old son was in a horrific accident last week, he was the victim and had 0% fault. A car who was going well over 90 mph on the opposite of the road lost control, jumped the median, went airborne, and hit right into the front of my son’s truck as he landed. The at fault driver died on impact and he had no car insurance. We have been dealing with our car insurance the uninsured motorist division i suppose. Anyway his truck is totaled. Comparable trucks are about $25,000 and the wonderful insurance has offered him $18,000 minus our deductible. That’s annoying in itself since he did not cause the accident in anyway. BUT my question is will our insurance rates increase when we need to renew in July because of this accident?
Will insurance rates increase upon renewal?
byu/amyolsen185 inInsurance
Posted by amyolsen185
6 Comments
Rating factors are different from state to state. What state did this happen in?
Hope your son is well.
Rates increase for many reasons. Having a claim is just one reason. Having an at fault claim often does not directly lead to increased rates (some states don’t allow increases due to not at fault claims).
If you do have a significant increase at renewal time, shop around. There are a lot of companies to choose from
You can negotiate the settlement by finding comps for cars for sale that are similar age and mileage. Unfortunately it’s pretty common to get less than you really need to replace the car.
You can invoke the appraisal clause in your policy for full value of vehicle. Glad they are okay. You can also higher a third part appraiser as well. Several good companies on Facebook. With money back guarantees.
In NJ, carriers can factor not-at-fault claims into premium calculations, although they are generally counted much less than an at-fault claim. So the bottom line is you may see a higher premium, but it likely won’t be all that much higher, at least not because of this one accident.
Still a much, much better outcome than serious injuries to your son.
Regarding the truck, you are either going through your own collision coverage or through UM-PD. Either way, the truck is valued by the carrier at whatever you could have sold it for immediately before the accident, not what it would cost to replace. That’s the difference between ACV (actual cash value) and some sort of replacement coverage. ACV is the norm, replacement value is unusual but it exists in the form of New Car Replacement Coverage endorsements, which typically add to the cost of a policy.
If you believe the $18K valuation is low, step one is to get a copy of their valuation report and point out any errors (like getting the mileage, condition or trim level wrong). Step two is to try to obtain your own comps for similar vehicles that have recently sold near you. Step three is to invoke your policy’s appraisal clause (which includes paying for the appraisal), but keep in mind that seldom moves the needle all that much.
I’m not an expert, but it seems that he had no fault. So, they shouldn’t go up. However, on your next bill, you could get an increase with a statement saying something like, ” We periodically evaluate various risk factors in our coverage areas. This resulted in the necessity to increase rates in your area.”
That is one crazy accident. You all must be freaked out, but grateful that your son is not seriously injured.